Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Freshman forward Courtney Fields (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) and senior forward Katie Reilly (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) each matched career highs with 18 points to help Gettysburg to a 66-59 victory against Ursinus in Centennial Conference (CC) action on Saturday afternoon at Bream Gym. With the win, Gettysburg extends its winning streak to five games and takes over sole possession of first place in the CC after just three contests.

The Bears (3-2, 2-1 CC) saw three players turn in double-doubles on the day. Senior forward Mary Kate Daley had a game-high 20 points to go with 10 rebounds. Senior center Molly Guntli added 13 points and 13 boards, and freshman center Caroline Konstanzer posted a 10-point, 10-rebound effort.

Fields got the scoring started just 15 seconds into the game. Daley tied it, and the Bullets (5-1, 3-0 CC) went on an 11-3 run to get the lead to eight points after a fast-break layup by freshman guard Allie Drechsler (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) and a 3-pointer by Fields. That would be Gettysburg's largest lead of the half.

Ursinus began to chip away at the lead with a three-point play by Konstanzer. Reilly connected for a jumper to get the lead back to seven points at 15-8, but the Bears put together an 8-0 run that was capped by a breakaway layup by Daley. That gave Ursinus a 16-15 lead at the halfway point of the first half, but it would be the only time in the game that the visitors would have the upper hand on the scoreboard.

Gettysburg junior guard Megan Hartman (Lewistown, Pa./Indian Valley) buried a three at the other end putting the Bullets up by a pair with 9:51 to go. Ursinus got the deficit down to two points with just under six minutes remaining in the half, but Gettysburg took a 24-20 advantage into the locker room.

The Bullets shot 30.3 percent (10-for-33) from the field compared with 25.0 percent (8-for-32) by the Bears. Each team had chances to add more in the opening 20 minutes, but Ursinus missed seven free throws on 11 attempts and Gettysburg was just 1-for-4 from the line. All of those numbers were vastly improved in the second half, however, with the teams combining to shoot 27-for-36 from the stripe, and both squads were over 40 percent from the floor.

The teams played close to even for the first eight minutes of the second half with the Bears pulling within one point twice. The second time, Guntli hit a pair of free throws at the 12:09 mark to make the score 31-30 in Gettysburg's favor.

The Bullets then broke out on a 16-2 run that featured 3-pointers from Fields, sophomore guard Margaret White (Burke, Va./James W. Robinson) and freshman forward Ali Goldsmith (Farmingdale, N.J./Howell) and a three-point play by Drechsler.

After Gettysburg extended the lead to 15 again at 49-34 with 8:19 to play, Ursinus went on a run of its own to claw back into the game. The Bears scored 12 consecutive points over the next 3:02. Junior guard Sarah Hennessey had six points in the run, and Guntli added four. Included was the layup at 5:17 that cut the Gettysburg lead to 49-46.

After a 30-second timeout by the Bullets, Fields hit a layup, and Hartman added a pair of free throws to give Gettysburg some breathing room. The Bullets then hit nine consecutive free throws in the last minute, including four from White, and Ursinus never got closer than five points again.

Gettysburg will return to action on Tuesday when the Bullets play host to Messiah in a non-conference game at Bream Gym. Game time is slated for 6 p.m.