Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg College went into the locker room at halftime with a comfortable 14-point lead against visiting Franklin & Marshall College and appeared to be on the verge of moving one step closer to securing a spot in the upcoming Centennial Conference Tournament. But the Diplomats turned the table on the Bullets, missing only five field goals in the final period en route to a surprising 67-60 victory in Bream Gym on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

The loss dropped Gettysburg (13-11, 10-7 CC) into sixth place in the CC standings, one spot removed from a playoff position and half a game behind Dickinson College (13-10, 10-6 CC), which hosted Muhlenberg College (20-3, 16-0 CC) on Wednesday. Franklin & Marshall (14-11, 11-6 CC) moved into a tie with McDaniel College (13-10, 11-6 CC) and Johns Hopkins University (13-11, 11-6 CC) for second place in the standings.

In the opening half, the lead changed hands back and forth in the opening minutes until sophomore Caitlin Moser (Wyomissing, Pa./Wyomissing) canned a free throw at 10:24, giving the hosts a 16-15 advantage. Following an exchange of jumpers, Gettysburg finally pushed the advantage with an 8-0 run, including six points by Moser, to jump ahead 26-17 with just under eight minutes to play.

Moser wasn't the only Bullet getting into the offensive flow as freshman Julie McGrory (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) hit the books for 13 first-half points, including back-to-back three-pointers to give Gettysburg a 38-24 lead with just under two minutes left in the half. The margin stayed at 14 as the two teams exchanged buckets to end the period.

Gettysburg dished out 13 assists, committed just four turnovers, and out-rebounded the visitors 26-17 in the first half. The Bullets defense played a major role as well, holding F&M's leading scorer, Sarah Meisenberg, without a single point.

Those numbers turned on the Bullets in the second period as the Diplomats came out firing, scoring each of the first eight points and missing just one shot through the first eight minutes of action. The key play in the period came just past 12 minutes when Meisenberg picked up a loose ball and drove the length of the court for a lay-up. Gettysburg was assessed a technical foul after the conversion and Meisenberg sank both free throw attempts to pull her team to 46-44 at 11:51. The Diplomats tacked on eight more points following that sequence, ending a 16-0 run and setting the score at 52-46 with eight minutes to play.

The Bullets closed the gap late in the contest on a pair of three-pointers by junior Allie Drechsler (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill), but those were the only shots by the hosts that hit the mark in the final six minutes until a putback by Moser set the final score with 28 seconds left.

Franklin & Marshal finished the game shooting at a clip of 56 percent (28-of-50), primarily due to a 17-for-22 performance in the second half. The Diplomats out-scored Gettysburg 41-20 in the final period and held a 48-16 advantage in the paint. The Bullets also committed nine second-half turnovers, leading to 16 points by the visitors.

Moser led all scorers with 22 points and added a season-high 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. She was 10-of-18 from the field and 2-of-4 from the charity stripe. McGrory added a personal best 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including nailing a season-high three treys. Drechsler put in nine points, while freshman Sara Kinsley (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) posted six rebounds and six assists.

Meisenberg scored all 16 of her points in the final stanza and also dished out a game-high seven assists. Cara Landolfi was a force in the paint for the Dips, recording a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Megan Pauley came up just short of a double-double with 13 points and eight boards.

Gettysburg puts its playoff hopes on the line this weekend in its season finale against McDaniel on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 4 p.m. Saturday's contest is also part of the Women's Basketball Coaches (WBCA) Pink Zone™ initiative, a global unified effort for the WBCA nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The Bullets are accepting monetary pledges and donations throughout the week and on Saturday with all proceeds being donated to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund™.