GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior Jessica Porter (Narberth, Pa./Lower Merion) and sophomore Emily Gibbons (Annapolis, Md./Severn School) each recorded double-doubles as Gettysburg College knocked off No. 11 Muhlenberg College 57-48 in a Centennial Conference women's basketball match up inside Bream Gym Thursday night.
Muhlenberg (16-2, 10-2 CC) was off to its best start in program history, but Gettysburg (15-4, 9-4 CC) held the conference leader to its lowest offensive output of the season. The Mules connected on just 16 field goals and shot 24.2 percent from the floor. The Bullets' beat their highest-ranked since a 60-57 overtime decision against ninth-ranked Muhlenberg on Jan. 14, 2012.
"We felt like we had a good game plan against them but it's always about executing against good teams," said Gettysburg coach Nate Davis. "I thought our team was as disciplined defensively as they've been all year and that played a big part for us today."
Trailing 9-7 in the first quarter, the hosts went on an eight-point run to jump in front. All of the points were the result of offensive rebounds with a conventional three-point play by Porter putting her team up 15-9 with 2:21 left in the frame.
In the teams' previous meeting won by Muhlenberg, the Mules out-scored Gettysburg 29-19 in the second quarter. The visitors tried to write the same story with a nine-point surge to grab an 18-15 advantage early in the frame. The deficit grew to five (27-22) on a three-pointer by Christina Manning with 1:27 left in the half.
The Bullets came on strong at the end of the second quarter with Porter canning a pair of three pointers, the last swishing through the net at the buzzer and tying the game 28-28 heading into the break.
"If you look at our game last time earlier in the year when we played them," noted Davis, "the second quarter put the game away for them and we just couldn't dig our way out of it. So we were trying to avoid that and keep our composure throughout the whole game. That's a tribute to our players and their poise and learning from their past mistakes and getting better."
The momentum continued to swing in favor of the Orange and Blue in the second half. Porter and Gibbons each scored four points apiece during an 8-0 run to start the third quarter. A three-pointer by senior Kim Ryan (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) made it a 12-point game (44-32) with 4:06 remaining in the period.
The Mules came charging back in the fourth quarter, pushing the pace and dialing down defensively. After Porter knocked down a three to start the frame, the visitors ran off the next 10 points with a fast-break bucket by Christine Santone slicing the double-figure deficit down to just one (47-46) with 6:26 remaining.
After holding strong on the defensive end, Gettysburg came up with a timely bucket in the former of a Ryan three-pointer at 5:33. Defense ruled the next four minutes on the game clock until Porter found a wide-open Gibbons underneath the hoop for an easy lay-in to make it 52-46 with 1:27 left.
Muhlenberg cut the lead to four on a pair of free throws by Brandi Vallely, but the Bullets converted five free throws inside the final 53 seconds to seal the win.
In addition to season lows in made field goals and shooting percentage, Muhlenberg managed a season-low nine assists and canned just 4-of-20 three-point attempts. Gettysburg shot only 27.1 percent (19-of-70) from the floor, but the Bullets knocked down nine three-pointers and all 10 free throws. The hosts also out-rebounded the visitors 55-48 and held a 19-4 advantage in second-chance points.
Porter canned a career-high five three-pointers and finished with 25 points and a dozen rebounds. Gibbons ripped down a career-high 17 rebounds to go with 10 points. Freshman Emma Dorshimer (Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) posted 11 points, while Ryan's trio of threes accounted for her point total. Senior Emily Duggan (Marmora, N.J./Ocean City) grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists.
"Honestly it was a great team effort," said Davis. "Obviously some players had some great individual efforts, but I thought our team defense was as good as it's been all year against a really quality team which executes really well."
Vallely and Plotke each scored 13 points for Muhlenberg. Vallely also contributed eight rebounds, seven steals, and five assists. Santone finished with nine points, 16 rebounds, and five blocked shots.
Gettysburg moved into sole possession of third place in conference standings with the victory. The Bullets travel to fourth-place Haverford College (13-7, 8-5 CC) on Saturday for a doubleheader with the men's teams. The women open the day at 1 p.m.