THE FACTS
Gettysburg (20-6, 16-4 CC) 70, Washington College (14-13, 9-11 CC) 40
What: Centennial Conference women's semifinal basketball game
When: Friday, February 24
Where: Gettysburg, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
Gettysburg controlled the Centennial Conference tournament semifinal game from the start, using strong offense and quick-paced defense to open up a 25-6 first period lead en route to a 30-point win to ensure themselves the opportunity to defend their conference title.
THE LEADERS
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Mackenzie Szlosek (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) led the Bullets with 21 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks.
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Alayna Arnolie (Vienna, Va./James Madison) was the other Bullet in double-digits, with 13 points.
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Shinya Lee (Rochester, N.Y./Holderness Prep School) collected 11 rebounds to go with five points.
FOR THE FOES
• Amari Faust led the Shorewomen, with nine points.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• Gettysburg controlled the ball from the jump, as the Bullets won the first possession and
Mackenzie Szlosek knocked down a triple in the first 30 seconds of play. A free throw from
Emily Violante (Easton, Pa./Easton Area), jumper from
Meghan Barbera (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) and an
Alayna Arnolie trey staked the Bullets to a 9-0 lead to force a Washington timeout. Out of the timeout, the Shorewomen would hold the Bullets at bay for the next two minutes, but
Shinya Lee broke through with a layup in the paint with 5:28 showing to make it an 11-0 game. Serena Pluta finally earned a bucket for Washington on the next possession, but another trey by Szlosek stopped the Shorewomen's momentum before it started. Pluta managed another layup on Washington's next possession, but a 3-pointer from
AB Holsinger (Crozet, Va./Langley) gave the Bullets a 13-point lead and forced another Washington timeout with 2:56 left in the first. Coming out of the timeout, Szlosek hit two at the charity stripe and Joy Sanders made one in the paint for the Shorewomen to make it 19-6, but a
Kylie Holcomb (Enola, Pa./Cumberland Valley) triple and three-point play by Szlosek yielded 19-point lead for the Bullets going into the second.
• Lee hit a jumper less than a minute into the second to increase the Bullets' lead to 20, but two at the line by Kaitlyn Boggs brought the lead back down momentarily. Arnolie hit another trey and Holsinger went coast-to-coast for a 24-point Bullets lead, 24-8. No points would be scored for two minutes, until Pluta laid one in with 6:19 left to play in the half. A jumper by Violante kicked off a 5-4 run, including another Szlosek triple for the Bullets to end the half, more than doubled up on Washington, 37-14.
• Violante started the third period with a jumper in the first 12 seconds to open up a 8-6 run for the Bullets, giving them a 28-point lead. Four bullets scored within the stretch, including another 3-pointer from Holcomb. Washington went on their own 5-0 run, spurred by Amari Faust, to chip the deficit to 23, but Szlozek finished the quarter with a bucket and two at the line to send the teams into the final quarter, 52-25.
• Two at the line from Arnolie sparked a Bullets 10-4 run that brought their lead back up to 33, with 6:38 left in the game. Coming out of a timeout, Bryson Ostrum put together a triple and a jumper for the Shorewomen to cut the Bullets' lead back to 29, and Andrea Prestianne made it 26 with a trey of her own. In the final two minutes,
Cynthia Williams (North Brunswick, N.J./Hill School) laid one in to start a game-closing 5-3 run for the Bullets, which was capped by a 3-pointer from
Courtney Kelly (Morristown, N.J./Madison) in the final 30 seconds. The Shorewomen failed to score on their last possession of the game, and Gettysburg took home the 70-40 win.
THE INSIDE STORY
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Emily Violante chipped in nine points.
• Gettysburg shot 44.4% from the field goal range and 55.56% from behind the arc in the game-defining first quarter, and held Washington to only 16.67% from two and 0% from three.
• With the win, Gettysburg advances to the Centennial Conference Championship at Johns Hopkins on Sunday. The Bullets will look to defend their 2022 Championship title, which they won 43-40 against the Blue Jays last year. The rematch is scheduled exactly one year later to the day, on Sunday, February 26th.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg will return to action in the Centennial Conference Championship game on Sunday. Game time is to be determined.
