COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Senior Jessica Porter (Narberth, Pa./Lower Merion) became the 14th member of the 1,000-point club at Gettysburg College and the Bullets held off host Ursinus College for a 61-54 victory inside Helfferich Hall on Thursday night.
Gettysburg (9-3, 4-3 CC) won at Ursinus (7-7, 6-2 CC) for the first time since Dec. 12, 2009, ending a five-game losing streak in Collegeville. Porter put the quest for 1,000 to rest early by knocking down a pair of free throws with 3:42 left in the first half. She finished with 21 points and added 10 boards for her fourth double-double of the season. Sophomore Emily Gibbons (Annapolis, Md./Severn School) paced the Bullets with a season-high 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Following a back-and-forth opening quarter, Gettysburg started to pull away with an 8-2 run to start the second period, capped by Porter's aforementioned charity attempts to push her team in front 24-18. Ursinus managed just a pair of field goals in the quarter as the visitors walked into the half with a 27-20 advantage.
The Bullets' lead grew to 12 (35-23) on a jumper by Gibbons at 7:12 in the third quarter. The advantage quickly dissipated as an old-fashioned three-point play by Libby Lannon sparked a big run by the Bears. Ursinus out-scored Gettysburg 19-5 over the remainder of the frame to take a 42-40 lead into the final period.
The Bullets stormed back as Gibbons turned in eight points during a 10-point surge to start the final quarter. The Bears sliced the deficit down to five twice, including at 59-54 with 1:28 to play. Ursinus would get no closer, missing five field goals during the remaining time.
Gettysburg posted its second-best shooting performance of the year, hitting 24-of-50 (48 percent) field goals. Ursinus shot just 28.8 percent (19-of-66) from the field, but the Bears out-rebounded the Bullets 42-36.
Porter played every minute, finishing 9-of-19 from the field and adding three blocks and three steals. With the scoring milestone, she also became just the second Bullet to eclipse 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 100 blocks in a career. Gibbons finished 9-of-14 from the floor and dished out a team-high three assists, while senior Kim Ryan (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) posted six points.
Jessica Porada posted a game-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Rachel Guy scored 13 points and Elana Roadcloud grabbed 13 rebounds.
Gettysburg faces Bryn Mawr College on Saturday at 2 p.m.