(Carlisle, Pa.) – The Dickinson women's basketball team used a great start, strong finish and a balanced offensive attack to win its opening round game of the Centennial Conference playoffs, turning back Haverford College, 44-26, on Wednesday night. The Red Devils set a Centennial Conference playoff record for points allowed, breaking their own previous mark of 35, set in the 2007 semifinals.

Scoring was hard to come by in the opening minutes as the Devils took a 4-2 lead at the 5:20 mark on a jumper from sophomore Kassidy Lesher (Shoemakersville, Pa./Hamburg). That trigged the Red Devil offense as they stretched the lead to 9-2, and held an 11-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Red Devil defense was just as solid in the second, holding the 'Fords to just one field-goal and a pair of free throws. In the new four-quarter format, the Red Devils set another conference record, twice, allowing just four points in the first and second periods.

Sophomore Mairead Donahue (Trumbull, Conn./St. Joseph) gave the Devils great minutes on Wednesday night. She hit a jumper to open the second quarter and Helen Roberts (Oakton, Va./Oakton) knocked down a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 16-4.

Junior Mary Martin (Honesdale, Pa./Honesdale) played well on both ends of the floor all night. She hit a pair of free throws and sank a jumper in the final minute as Dickinson built the lead to 24-8 at the break. Jennifer Smith (Short Hills, N.J./Millburn) made a great play to score at the buzzer to end the half.

Haverford came out shooting to start the second half. Olivia Walsh hit a three-pointer, right out of the gate, and the 'Fords cut the lead to nine. Lesher answered to break up the run, scoring off an assist from senior Sam Kennedy (Chatham, N.J./Chatham).

The 'Fords would claim the quarter, but the Devils held a 29-18 advantage, heading into the final stanza.

Dickinson gained some momentum and would continue to build on the lead throughout the fourth. Mackenzie Skerritt (Hightstown, Md./The Peddie School) opened with a three-pointer and added a free throw to extend the margin to 14.

Lesher and Martin controlled the paint for the better part of the game with help from Donahue. Martin gave the Devils their biggest lead at 40-19, hitting a pair of free throws at the 2:07 mark.

Dickinson finished strong with Roberts finding Jonica Brown (Mohnton, Pa./The Hill School) on a beautiful backdoor cut for a lay-up and Smith tallied the final points once again for the final score of 44-26.

Martin led the way with 11 points and six rebounds, hitting 7-of-10 free throws. Lesher was just shy of a double-double with nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds, raising her season total to 241. Kennedy finished with a solid line as well, scoring four points to go with five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Roberts tallied five points, six rebounds and a pair of assists. Smith added six points, three rebounds and two steals, and Skerritt finished with five points, three rebounds, a steal and assist.

Sierra Berkel led Haverford (15-11) with a double-double, scoring 10 points and controlling 11 rebounds.

The Red Devils improve to 16-9 on the season and advance to Friday night's semifinals at Muhlenberg College. The Red Devils will take on the host Mules at 6:00 pm in Allentown.