BALTIMORE, MD – In a battle befitting a matchup of two of the nation's top defensive teams, it was host and #19/#20 Johns Hopkins outscoring visiting #10/#9 Gettysburg 21-13 in the fourth quarter to fuel a 59-51 Blue Jay victory at Goldfarb Gym Wednesday night. The victory is the eighth straight for the Blue Jays, who improve to 17-3 overall and 9-1 in the Centennial Conference, while the loss snaps a nine-game winning streak for the Bullets, who slip to 18-2 overall and 8-1 in the Centennial.
After battling to a 38-38 tie through three quarters and still tied at 43 as the clock dripped under the five-minute mark, the Blue Jays grabbed the lead for good on a Kendall Dunham jumper with 4:40 remaining. The Bullets were still within two at 47-45 after a Shinya Lee free throw with 3:11 remaining, but the Blue Jays answered with a Greta Miller layup at the other end, forced the Bullets into a pair of misses and turnover over the next 60 seconds and then extended the lead to 51-45 on a Macie Feldman turnaround jumper.
Gettysburg's Emily Violante splashed home a three-pointer 15 seconds after Feldman's bucket, but Feldman's driving layup and conventional three-point play on Hopkins' ensuing possession sprung an 8-3 Blue Jay spurt to close the game and seal the win. After hitting 6-of-12 from the line during the first 39 minutes, Johns Hopkins hit 6-of-7 from the line down the stretch.
The Bullets led 12-11 after one quarter and found themselves down 17-16 after a Michael O'Neil driving layup for the Blue Jays with 6:08 on the second-quarter clock, but a pair of Violante free throws ignited a half-ending 9-2 Gettysburg run that made it a six-point game at the half (25-19). An Ava O'Neil three-pointer – her only basket of the game – highlighted the spurt for the Bullets.
The Blue Jays scored the first two buckets of the third quarter, only to have AB Holsinger and Lee score in the paint to push the margin back to six (29-23). Five quick Layla Henderson points made it a one-point game and the Bullets held the lead between one and four points until a late Michaela O'Neil three-pointer gave the Jays a 38-36 lead with just over a minute remaining in the period. Violante, who went 6-for-6 from the line on the night, hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to account for the tie at the end of the third quarter.
Seven minutes into the fourth, the back-to-back buckets from Miller and Feldman gave the Jays the cushion they needed to seal the victory.
Feldman notched her sixth double-double of the season with an 18-point, 11-rebound effort that also included four steals and three assists. Michaela O'Neil added 15 points, nine rebounds and six blocks and Jadyn Murray scored nine points and added four rebounds on the night.
Alayna Arnolie led the Bullets with 12 points and four rebounds, while Violante (11 points and nine rebounds) and Lee (10 points, nine rebounds) also scored in double figures.
The 51 points are season low for the Bullets, who were also held to a season-low 32.1% shooting percentage from the field. Gettysburg is also the 14th straight opponents the Blue Jays have held to 55 points or less.
The victory puts the teams into a virtual tie atop the Centennial Conference standings as Johns Hopkins' 9-1 league mark puts the Jays a half-game ahead of the 8-1 Bullets. The top two teams in the final regular season standings will earn a bye in the upcoming Centennial Conference Tournament.
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Saturday, February 8 when the Blue Jays welcome Ursinus to Goldfarb Gym (2 pm).
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