GETTYSBURG, Pa. — Three-time defending Centennial Conference champion Gettysburg used a 10-0 run in the second quarter to open up a double-digit lead, and went on to defeat Washington in the semifinal round of the women’s basketball tournament Friday night, 58-39.
The No. 12-ranked Bullets (25-2) never trailed, though there were two ties in the opening 16 minutes and change.
After the teams traded 3-pointers — Alayna Arnolie for the Bullets on their first shot and Karry Kelliher for the guests from Chestertown — Gettysburg pulled ahead, 6-3, on another Arnolie three with only 1 minute, 24 seconds elapsed.
Then nearly three minutes passed before Arnolie hit a step-back to stretch the lead to 8-3.
Back-to-back buckets from Washington’s Kiersten Rose and Taylor Shane cut the margin to a single point with 4:42 remaining in the first frame.
Jameson Mott hit the front end of a two-shot foul 32 seconds later to make it 9-7, which is where the score stood for the remainder of the opening quarter.
After Shinya Lee drove to the hoop with 8:54 to play in the half, Kelliher and AB Holsinger traded triples.
Baskets from Washington’s Abby Meredith and Emma Robinson tied the game at 14-all with 6:53 showing.
Another Holsinger 3-pointer just 15 seconds later restored the Bullets’ lead for good, 17-14.
With her foot on the line, Kelliher banked in a long two to make it 17-16.
Lee answered with a layup at the other end with 5:53 remaining to start the game-changing flurry of 10 unanswered points.
Gettysburg took its largest lead of the half at 27-16 on Arnolie’s fast-break jump shot with just under three minutes to play.
Robinson halted the run with a layup at 2:37, and the nine-point margin, 27-18, held up at the break.
The second-half scoring started with a Robinson second-chance layup, but Arnolie completed a traditional three-point play to push the lead back to double digits, 30-20, with 8:13 remaining in the third quarter.
Washington’s Meredith scored seven of the next nine point to close to 32-27 with 3:27 to play before Reagan Chrencik’s driving layup sparked a 7-0 Gettysburg run — with five points coming from Chrencik — to extend the spread to 39-27 at quarter’s end.
After the Bullets took a 46-29 lead just 2:05 into the final frame, the Shore ladies made one last push by scoring eight of the next 10 points to reduce the deficit to 48-37 with 2:25 remaining on a Meredith jumper in the paint.
Three-pointers from three different Bullets keyed a 10-2 finish to salt away the victory.
Arnolie, the tournament’s most outstanding player and the 2023-24 conference player of the year, netted a game high of 18 points. She had plenty of support as eight other Bullets also found the scoring column, including Lee, whose line included 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.
Meredith was the top gun for Washington with 15 points. Kelliher and Robinson (six rebounds) contributed eight and six points, respectively.
The other Shore starters, Kaitlyn Boggs (four points) and Rose (two points), were credited with nine and seven rebounds, respectively.
This was the final college game for seniors Kelliher, Rose and Avery Thomas. They were members of teams that collectively won 62 games over four seasons for head coach Alisha Mosley — the most for any class in program history. Washington qualified for the conference tournament in all four seasons, and the semifinals on three occasions.
Washington finished 17-10, tying the program record for wins established by the 2021-22 team that also finished 17-10.
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No. 2 seed Gettysburg went on to defeat No. 1 seed Johns Hopkins, 68-60 in overtime, in the title game Sunday in Baltimore. This is Gettysburg’s fourth CC championship in as many years.
Hopkins (22-4) had advanced after eliminating No. 6 seed Dickinson, 63-51, in Friday’s other semifinal.
As Centennial champs, the Bullets earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. They will host a first- and second-round regional this weekend.
No. 17-ranked Johns Hopkins earned an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament field of 64, and also will host the first and second rounds March 7-8.