GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Junior Kendra Meredith (Boyds, Md./Northwest) flirted with Gettysburg's first triple-double in over two decades as the Bullets took care of business in their home opener with a 77-66 victory over Johns Hopkins University Tuesday night.
Making its only home appearance until January, Gettysburg (3-1, 2-0 CC) gave the home crowd a show with Meredith putting up 16 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. Junior Emily Gibbons (Annapolis, Md./Severn School) posted the program's best rebound total in 14 years with 19 boards to go along with 19 points, while sophomore Emma Dorshimer (Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) became the first Bullet to score 20 points in four-straight games in over a decade with a game-high 23.
Johns Hopkins (2-3, 1-1 CC) was led by Lillian Scott and Caroline Corcoran with 18 and 15 points, respectively.
The Bullets and Blue Jays battled back and forth in the opening quarter with the home team taking advantage of second-chance points to grab the advantage by the end of the frame. A pair of buckets following offensive rebounds by Gibbons and freshman Tyler Keohan (Acton, Mass./Acton Boxborough Regional) keyed a 9-2 run to give Gettysburg a 21-17 lead at the end of the first period.
The theme continued in the second period as half of the host's 18 points in the quarter came from second-chance opportunities, including a three-pointer by Gibbons to make it 39-31 with 1:38 to go before halftime.
The Bullets began the second half on fire, erupting for a 19-4 run to begin the third quarter. Back-to-back buckets by Dorshimer, the second set up by a steal and assist by Meredith, kicked off an 11-0 run to give Gettysburg a 58-37 advantage with 4:26 left in the frame.
Johns Hopkins battled back in the final minutes of the third quarter, posting an 11-0 run of its own. A pair of lay-ups by Elle Hepburn pulled the Blue Jays to 58-48 heading into the final period.
The visitors sliced the deficit in half with Scott making a three-pointer and a lay-up to pull her team to five (61-56) with just five minutes to play. Dorshimer answered right back for Gettysburg, knocking down a three-pointer on a feed from Meredith. Freshman Kiera Cesareo (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) sank another trey to make it a double-figure lead at 67-56 with 3:25 remaining. The Blue Jays pulled to eight in the final 30 seconds before Dorshimer and Gibbons polished off the win at the free throw line.
Gettysburg canned 29-of-70 (41.4 percent) field goals, while Johns Hopkins hit 26-of-72 (36.1 percent). The Bullets held a 51-41 advantage on the glass which contributed to a 25-11 lead in second-chance points. Gettysburg also posted 10 blocked shots.
Meredith finished 7-of-9 from the field on her way to finishing just shy of Gettysburg's first triple-double since Maureen Andrews '95 against Juniata College in 1993. Gibbons logged her second-straight double-double and pulled down the most rebounds since Jay Hodge '03 ripped down 20 against Washington College in 2002. Dorshimer, who came into the game as the Centennial Conference's leading scorer, became the first Bullet with 20 points in four-straight games since Jennifer Bengel '06 during the 2004-05 season. Cesareo added eight points for the Orange and Blue.
Gettysburg heads to Washington College this Saturday. Game time is 4 p.m.