2010 Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Championships
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Gettysburg College women's basketball team embarks on the quest for its first Centennial Conference championship when it heads to Muhlenberg College this weekend (Feb. 27-28) for the conference tournament. Standing in the Bullets' way in the semifinals is McDaniel College, the only team to defeat the Orange and Blue twice this season.
Gettysburg (22-3, 17-3 CC) is in the midst of one of the best seasons in school history, tying the program record for wins in a season and tying for the top spot in the Centennial standings. The Bullets have never laid a finger on the CC's trophy since beginning play 16 years ago, and this weekend's event will require everything the team has to offer.
“The difference this weekend is it's one-and-done,” said Head Coach
Mike Kirkpatrick, the 2010 CC Coach of the Year. “The intensity is much higher in the playoffs than the regular season. We're fortunate that a lot of our recent games have been very intense and we've played the top teams in the conference. We should be prepared for the type of atmosphere we'll be facing this weekend.”
The team Gettysburg will be facing in its first playoff game is a familiar foe in McDaniel (18-6, 16-4 CC). The Green Terror won both regular-season meetings with the Bullets this year, taking a 51-48 decision at Bream Gym on Jan. 20 and closing the regular season with an 82-70 victory in the Gill Center last Saturday. In that final meeting, McDaniel drained a dozen threes and led by as many as 18 in the second half.
“We need to get in a groove early and try to keep them from getting in their own groove,” noted Kirkpatrick. “They had a good rhythm last game, and we didn't. They played better and deserved to win. If both teams play well, it's going to be another battle.”
The long-time I-97 rivals have met four times in the CC playoffs with McDaniel winning the first three before a 79-71 Gettysburg win in 2008.
Kirkpatrick, named CC Coach of the Year by his peers on Tuesday, can turn to three All-CC selections for leadership in senior co-captains
Allie Drechsler (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) and
Courtney Fields (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) and junior
Caitlin Moser (Wyomissing, Pa./Wyomissing). Drechsler was named second-team all-conference as the team's defensive stopper and Fields was an honorable mention selection as the team's second-leading scorer and top three-point threat. Moser was named all-conference for the third year in a row after putting up 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game and she is looking to pick up where she left off the 2008 postseason when she averaged 25.7 points and 10 rebounds in three games.
What makes Gettysburg so dangerous to play is its ability to have anyone on the roster step up and play key minutes. Sophomores
Julie McGrory (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown),
Lauren Dadigan (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley), and
Sara Kinsley (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) have each stepped up with big games at different points this season. McGrory has posted at least 15 points in seven of her last eight outings and has jumped to third on the team with over 10 points per game.
The winner of the Gettysburg-McDaniel game will face the victor between Muhlenberg (20-4, 17-3 CC) and Wednesday's first-round game between Dickinson College (16-8, 12-8 CC) and Johns Hopkins University (15-9, 13-7 CC). While the top three teams (Muhlenberg, Gettysburg, and McDaniel) have stood out from the pack this season, any team is capable of pulling out the win when the timing is right.
“All the playoff teams can beat each other and they've shown that this season,” said Kirkpatrick. “The outcome this weekend will hinge on who's playing the best in that game. Any game might come down to who is holding the final possession.”
“We have an excellent chance,” he added. “We've proven throughout the season we can play with anyone and if we keep our intensity at a high level, we will raise our chances of winning.”
The 2010 CC Tournament gets underway on Wednesday with Dickinson meeting Johns Hopkins in Baltimore at 7 p.m. The winner of that contest will draw top seed Muhlenberg in Saturday's first semifinal at 2 p.m. with the Bullets and Green Terror taking the court at about 4. Sunday's championship is set for 2 p.m.
