GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior Emily Gibbons (Annapolis, Md./Severn School) flirted with a triple-double and classmate Kendra Meredith (Boyds, Md./Northwest) tied her career high with 17 points as Gettysburg College advanced to the Centennial Conference Championship game with a 63-55 victory over Johns Hopkins University Friday night inside Bream Gym.
 
Gettysburg (24-2), which tied the program record for victories in a season, heads to the conference title game for the second consecutive season and fourth time overall. The Bullets will face Haverford College (21-6), which knocked off defending champion Muhlenberg College (22-4) 60-47 in Friday's second semifinal. The game is set to take place at 5 p.m. on Saturday inside Bream Gym.
 
Gibbons finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, and a career-high eight assists in her bid for the program's first triple-double in 25 years. The senior also reached 1,000 career rebounds with her final board of the night, becoming just the ninth Centennial Conference woman and first at Gettysburg to reach the milestone.
 
Meredith topped her career total of three-pointers made by one with five makes from beyond the arc. She finished 5-of-6 from three-point land and grabbed seven boards. Junior Emma Dorshimer (Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) also tallied double-figures with 11 points and dished out a career-high six assists.
 
Lillian Scott led a trio of Blue Jays in double-figures with 19 points. Madison McGrath and Sophia Way each posted 10 points.
 
Gettysburg found itself down quickly in the early going as Johns Hopkins broke out to a 15-5 advantage following a three-pointer by Lexie Scholtz. The Bullets sliced the deficit quickly with a three-point barrage over the final 4:05 of the first quarter, knocking down five treys as part of a 17-2 run. The Orange and Blue ended the period leading 22-17.
 
The Blue Jays kept the margin within four following a pair of free throws by Scott with 5:23 to play in the second quarter, but a quick seven-point spurt lifted Gettysburg ahead by 11 (35-24) with 2:26 left. The hosts would stride into the locker room leading 37-27.
 
Gettysburg led by double-figures throughout the third quarter only to see the visitors claw their way back in the fourth. Three-straight buckets to start the final period set the score at 48-42 with 6:25 to play.
 
Gibbons converted a feed from Dorshimer under the hoop to kick off an 8-0 run. Meredith's final three-pointer of the night made it 56-42 with 3:10 remaining. The Blue Jays would make one final surge to pull within six with 21 seconds to go, but Dorshimer and Meredith canned the final four free throws to seal the victory.
 
Gettysburg finished 23-of-51 (45.1 percent) from the floor and 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from three-point land. Johns Hopkins made 21-of-64 (32.8 percent) field goals and finished with a 38-37 advantage on the glass. The Bullet reserves out-produced the Blue Jay bench 15-3 with freshman Meredith Brown (Landisburg, Pa./West Perry) accounting for six points and four rebounds.
 
Friday's second semifinal saw Haverford win the rubber match with No. 25 Muhlenberg. The Fords scored the first eight points of the game and held the Mules to one field goal for nearly eight minutes. The lead stood at 20-9 after one quarter and grew to as many as 14 in the second period. A three-pointer by Brandi Vallely cut the margin down to eight (36-28) heading into halftime.
 
The pace slowed in the third quarter as the defenses locked down, allowing only 14 points combined between the two teams. Haverford maintained its eight-point edge heading into the final period. Muhlenberg pulled within six at the start of the frame, but Samantha Wetzel and Sierra Berkel combined for eight points early in the period to help send Haverford to the title game for the first time since 2014.
 
Wetzel and Berkel each finished with double-doubles, the former going for 21 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocked shots and the latter posting 12 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Vallely was the lone Mule to reach double-figures with 11 points.
 
Gettysburg is seeking its second Centennial crown and first since winning on its home court in 2013. The Fords also won their only conference title on their home court four years ago. The teams split the regular-season series with the road team winning each meeting.
 
Ticket prices for Saturday's championship are $5 for adults and $3 for youth 13-18. There will be no charge for children 12 and under and students from participating schools will be admitted free with a college ID.
 
Live video and statistics can be found at CentennialConference.TV. Fans can also engage the conference on Twitter (#CentConf) and Instagram (#CentennialConf).
 
For more information on the event please visit the tournament website at http://gettysburgsports.com/2018CCWBB.