THE FACTS
No. 12 Gettysburg (25-2) 68, No. 17 Johns Hopkins (22-4) 60
What: Centennial Conference (CC) women's basketball championship
When: Sunday, Mar. 2
Where: Baltimore, Md.
THE SKINNY STORY
Through three quarters, it appeared top-seeded and 17th-ranked Johns Hopkins would be able to put an end to three years of Gettysburg championships. However, the second-seeded and 12th-ranked Bullets had a different idea when the fourth quarter came around. Defense sealed the deal. A rally from down as many as 13 forced overtime in a Centennial Conference championship game for the first time since 2007 and then Gettysburg held its hosts without a point for the first 4 minutes, 50 seconds of the extra session for a 68-60 win and unprecedented fourth straight title.
THE LEADERS
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Alayna Arnolie (Vienna, Va./James Madison) earned tournament most outstanding player honors after her 22-point, four-rebound, three-steal game to lead the Bullets.
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Kimberly Hopkins (Baldwin, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) played a huge role in the comeback win with 12 points – seven of which came in the decisive fourth quarter.
FOR THE FOES
• Kendall Dunham led the Blue Jays with 15 points.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• A Macie Feldman layup in transition staked Johns Hopkins to a 2-0 lead 55 seconds into the game. Three baskets from three different Gettysburg players gave the visitors a 6-2 lead with 6:50 on the clock. The Blue Jays, however, went on a 14-2 run over a stretch of nearly six minutes to take a 16-8 lead in the final minute.
AB Holsinger (Charlottesville, Va./Langley) finished from close range to close the margin to 16-10 after one quarter.
• The Bullets scored the first seven points of the second quarter to take a 17-16 edge. A Grace Soltes 3-pointer with 6:35 showing sparked a 9-0 counter to put the hosts in front 25-17 just 2:14 later. After
Alayna Arnolie momentarily halted the run, Layla Henderson drove and scored and Lauren Knudson drained a 3-pointer to open up an 11-point lead. An Emily Collins three-point play and Kendall Dunham 3-pointer opened up the Blue Jays' largest lead of the game at 36-23 with 1:13 to play in the opening half. A Holsinger jumper and
Kimberly Hopkins kickout corner trey closed the deficit to 36-28 at the break.
• An Arnolie driving layup and two
Emily Violante (Easton, Pa./Easton Area) in the first 1:18 of the third quarter closed the deficit to four but Dunham swished an 18-footer to push the lead back to six. The lead in the third quarter remained between five and nine points with the Blue Jays taking a 48-41 lead to the final period.
• Five straight points from Hopkins to start the fourth quarter, including a kickout triple, trimmed the deficit to 48-46 with 8:10 remaining. Arnolie got to the rim to tie the game with 6:25 to play. Baskets from Hopkins and Arnolie gave Gettysburg a 52-48 lead midway through the quarter. The teams traded baskets until Dunham hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to pull the Blue Jays within one. Macie Feldman hit the second of two free throws with 31.0 seconds left to tie the game at 57-all. Both teams had a look at the game-winner but could not covert, sending the game to overtime.
• Two Arnolie free throws with 4:02 showing gave the Bullets a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Shinya Lee (Rochester, N.Y./Holderness Prep School) and Holsinger both got to the rim to stretch the lead to six with 2:40 to play. Holsinger hit three of four free throws to extend the advantage to 66-57 with 16.6 seconds remaining before Michaela O'Neil got a triple to fall for the hosts' only points of overtime. Violante then sealed the win with two free throws.
THE INSIDE STORY
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Emily Violante added her first double-double of the year with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go with three assists.
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Shinya Lee added 14 rebounds and two blocks. As a team, Gettysburg finished with a 44-38 advantage on the glass.
• Gettysburg is the first Centennial Conference women's basketball team to win four straight championships. All four have come against Johns Hopkins with the last three in Baltimore.
• The title brings with it the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament field. The Bullets are projected to be a top-nine seed in the field and likely to host an opening weekend regional.
NEXT UP
The NCAA tournament field will be announced on Monday at 2:30 p.m.
