The Hopkins women’s basketball team traveled up to Gettysburg, Pa. last Thursday for a game against the No. 20 Gettysburg College Bullets. The game was a rematch of last year’s Centennial Conference Championship, which the Bullets ended up winning to take the Conference title.
Both teams started off cold, as they both missed layups and turned the ball over before the first points of the game were scored. Gettysburg finally struck first just under two minutes into the quarter to take a 2-0 lead, but the Blue Jays bounced right back with a three-pointer from senior guard Lexie Scholtz.
From that point on the game was back-and-forth, with neither team able to get any significant lead in the quarter. A layup with five seconds left in the quarter gave the Blue Jays a 12-11 lead that they would take into the second quarter.
The Bullets came out strong to start the second quarter, as they went on a 7-0 run over the first four minutes of the second quarter. That run came to an end courtesy of a layup by senior forward Maggie Spitzer. That combined with a three from senior guard Lillian Scott brought Gettysburg’s lead down to just one point.
The Blue Jays could not close the gap any more, as the Bullets brought their lead back up to seven with two minutes to play in the half. Hopkins closed the quarter out strong, however, with a jumper and a three from Scholtz to put the Gettysburg lead at only two going into halftime, 30-28.
Scholtz continued her scoring in the second half, which she opened with a layup to tie the game at 30. Scott then hit a pair of free throws to give the Blue Jays the lead again and complete an extended 9-0 run. The rest of the quarter was neck-and-neck, as neither team was able to get a lead of more than three points, and the third quarter ended with the score 42-41 in favor of Hopkins.
The fourth quarter picked up right where the third left off, with the teams trading baskets and in turn trading slim leads back and forth. With just over four minutes left in the game, the Bullets held on to a slim one-point lead after a pair of made free throws from Scholtz.
From that point on Gettysburg showed their Championship pedigree, going on an 8-0 run to push their lead all the way out to 9, their biggest lead of the game, with two and a half minutes to go. The Blue Jays tried to fight back, but there was not enough time, and Gettysburg came out victorious 67-60. Spitzer talked about what the difference in the game was.
“Gettysburg was a great matchup for us. We played well for about 35 of the 40 minutes, just came up empty on a few key possessions in a row and let them go on a run in the fourth. They also got to the free throw line 36 times compared to our 16, so we are looking to clean things up on the defensive end,” she said.
The Blue Jays followed up the Gettysburg game with another road game Saturday, this time against the Washington College Shorewomen.
Hopkins got ahead early, courtesy of a 8-0 run that started just under two minutes into the first quarter to go up 10-4. They would hold on to that momentum for the rest of the quarter, leading 13-8 at the break.
The Blue Jays would go on another 8-0 run in the second quarter, sending the score from 17-12 all the way to 25-12 with just under six minutes remaining in the quarter. The Shorewomen worked hard to cut the lead but could only get it down to nine at halftime, 31-22.
Washington opened the third quarter with a basket to cut the lead down to just seven, but the Blue Jays would not let them get any closer than that the rest of the way. Hopkins kept the lead, hovering around 10-13 points for the remainder of the quarter, which finished with the score 43-33.
Hopkins would deliver the final blow to the Shorewomen to start the fourth quarter, when they went on a 11-2 run to push their 10-point lead all the way out to 19 at 54-35. From that point on the Blue Jays could put it in cruise control, as they led by as many as 23 points before finishing with an 18-point victory, 63-45.
The win put the Blue Jays at 3-1 in Conference play on the season, putting them in a tie for third place. Spitzer talked about the stretch of the season ahead.
“We are building a lot of confidence after some key non-Conference wins early on and are excited for some more non-Conference challenges right after the break. Each of our Centennial matchups will be key for winning the Conference, and we are ready to use each game as an opportunity to build upon our 6-1 start,” she said.
The team’s next game comes Saturday at home against the Dickinson College Red Devils at 1 p.m.
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