THE FACTS
No. 9 Gettysburg (19-4) 15, No. 3 William Smith (21-1) 10
What: NCAA Div. III women's lacrosse semifinal
When: Friday, May 26
Where: Salem, Va.
THE SKINNY STORY
A back-and-forth first quarter turned into the
Jordan Basso (Rye, N.Y./Rye) show in the second quarter. When the junior got shut down after six first-half goals, freshman
Julia Daly (McLean, Va./Langley) took over with four fourth-quarter goals to finish off a 15-10 Gettysburg win over William Smith in the NCAA Div. III national semifinals.
THE LEADERS
•
Jordan Basso finished with a game-high six goals and seven points while
Julia Daly added five – all after halftime to lead the attack.
• The entire defense worked to shut down a William Smith attack that was averaging nearly 16 goals a game to two goals in three of the four quarters. The Herons' offense was held to 10 or fewer goals in just two of their first 21 games this season.
FOR THE FOES
• Natalie Daniels led the Herons with four goals.
THE REST OF THE STORY
•
Jordan Basso struck first, scoring off an
Emily Crane (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair) pass just 59 seconds into the game. Natalie Daniels responded just shy of four minutes later with a high-to-low shot from the left wing. Payton McMahon found Molly Davis, who finished for a 2-1 William Smith lead with 5:02 remaining in the opening period. Basso then finished a quick pass from
Caroline Sullivan (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) to knot the game once again with 1:56 showing.
• On the opening possession of the second quarter, Basso nearly completed a hat trick but her shot rattled off the crossbar and right back to
Gabi Connor (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial). The Bullets cycled the ball around and
Julie Breedveld (Wayne, Pa./Radnor) found Connor from goal line extended and the senior finished for a 3-2 lead just 83 seconds into the quarter. William Smith wasted little time getting the game back even. Natalie Daniels connected on a free-position shot from the right side 47 ticks later. Sullivan then found a cutting Connor, who finished falling away for a 4-3 edge with 12:07 on the clock. Another Heron eight-meter goal – this one from Allie McGinty tied the game for the fourth time with 8:05 showing. Just 40 seconds later, Basso did complete her 14th hat trick of the season, taking a flip from Sullivan at the top and working through the defense for 75th tally of the year to move into fourth place by herself all-time in a single season. Crane raced in from the top on a free-position attempt and got all the way to the goal before finishing for the first two-goal advantage for either team with 6:32 on the clock and forced a Heron timeout. Basso added two more just over a minute apart to stretch the lead to 8-4 with 4:38 on the second-quarter clock. She added a sixth for good measure on a free-position with 17 seconds left for a 9-4 halftime lead.
•
Julia Daly opened the second half, finishing a
Katie Fullowan (Lebanon, N.J./North Hunterdon) just 41 seconds after the break. Daniels drove through the center of the fan and scored William Smith's first goal in nearly 11 minutes to pull back within five. A Maddie Montgomery free-position marker made it 10-6 with 11:19 on the clock. Playing with a two-player advantage, Montgomery converted a free-position to close the margin to three just over a minute later. Davis made it four straight Heron goals, forcing a timeout with 7:06 to play. Sullivan connected with Crane, who scored late in the possession clock to stop the 4-0 run with 3:42 showing.
• Daly fought through the defense and finished an off-speed shot to stretch the lead to 12-8 with 12:48 on the clock, drawing a card in the process to get possession back with a player advantage. Daly made it a second-half hat trick of her own, taking a quick pass from Fullowan and finishing to extend the lead back to five 48 seconds later. McMahon scored off a Hannah Evans feed in transition to make it a 13-9 game with 8:52 remaining. Daly did it again with 6:48 on the clock, finishing a tough shot in front and drawing a card to give her team the player advantage for two minutes once again. The Bullets proceeded to possess out most of the ensuing 90-second clock before Daly fired home her fifth off a feed from Basso t stretch the lead to 15-9 with just 5:23 remaining. Daniels finished a pass from McGinty to make it a five-goal game once again 65 seconds later.
THE INSIDE STORY
• Gettysburg finished with a 32-24 advantage in shots and won 15 of 27 draw controls.
Emily Crane won a season-high eight draws.
• The 15 goals expanded on the program-record goals in a single season for the Bullets, who enter the championship game with 370. The 24 total points in the game gives Gettysburg a program record-tying 542 on the year. The Bullets also set a program single season record for draw controls (348) in the game and tied the record for free-position goals (69).
• This is the Bullets' fifth appearance in the national championship game. Gettysburg won the title in 2011, 2017 and 2018.
•
Caroline Sullivan finished with four assists while
Emily Crane and
Gabi Connor added two goals each.
• Sunday's matchup with Middlebury is a rematch of the 2022 national semifinal in Salem, which the Panthers won 18-5 en route to the national title.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg will face Middlebury – a 22-13 winner over Franklin & Marshall in the day's first semifinal – on Sunday. Game time is 12 p.m.
POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
