GETTYSBURG, Pa. – A stifling defensive effort propelled Gettysburg College to its 12th consecutive victory and a 55-34 decision over visiting McDaniel College in Centennial Conference women's basketball action Wednesday night inside Bream Gym.
 
Gettysburg (22-2, 18-1 CC) held McDaniel (12-12, 10-9 CC) to just 18 points through the first three quarters of play. The Bullets held the Green Terror to just 25 percent shooting from the field overall, including 1-of-11 from beyond the arc.
 
Sophomore Kiera Cesareo (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) paced the hosts with 16 points after finishing 6-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-6 from distance. Both seniors shined in their final regular-season home game as Emily Gibbons(Annapolis, Md./Severn School) tallied 15 points and Kendra Meredith (Boyds, Md./Northwest) finished with 11 points and five assists. Gibbons also grabbed 17 rebounds for her 36th career double-double and she moved into fifth on the program's career scoring list (1,349 points). The senior forward is also just 18 rebounds shy of reaching 1,000.
 
Gettysburg dominated from the outset as Cesareo connected on a trio of three-pointers to out-score McDaniel by herself in the opening quarter (9-6). The Bullets entered the second quarter with an 11-point lead (17-6) and the margin continued to grow, reaching a first-half high of 18 (28-10) on another three-pointer by Cesareo with 2:27 left.
 
The Bullets quickly assumed a 20-point advantage with the first seven points of the third quarter, including an old-fashioned three-point play by Gibbons at the start. The team led 39-18 heading into the final frame.
 
The advantage did not drop below 19 in the final 10 minutes.
 
Gettysburg finished 22-of-49 (44.9 percent) from the field and out-rebounded McDaniel 41-29. The Bullets held a 36-16 scoring advantage in the paint.
 
The Orange and Blue closes the regular season at Ursinus College (13-11, 10-9 CC) this Saturday at 1 p.m. before hosting the Centennial Conference semifinals and championship on Feb. 23-24.