CHESTERTOWN, Md. – There is being resilient and then there is doing what the Dickinson women's basketball team did on Saturday afternoon as the Red and White overcame a three-point first quarter and a 15-point halftime hole to rally back and edge out the host Washington College Shorewomen 56-54 at Fall Gym in Centennial Conference action on a
Lindsey Hollenshead jumper with one second left.
It was the Andrea Prestianne show early for the home side as she embarked on a 6-1 run over the opening three-plus minutes with a
Clair Marion free throw providing the only DC point. As Dickinson continued to struggle from the floor Kiersten Rose and Amari Faust each added layups to extend the margin to double-digits 11-1 with seven minutes off the clock. After Joy Sanders and Faust continued to add onto the Shorewomen advantage, Hollenshead finally hit the first shot from the field for the Devs inside the final minute to leave the visitors behind 17-3 after one. In that period the Red and White went just 1-14 from the floor and 0-7 from deep, while Washington shot a strong 63.6% (7-11).
Washington began the second period strong as well scoring the opening four points, before
Jenna Weinstein split a pair on the stripe.
Caitlin Blackman and Weinstein recorded points to make it 23-7, but layups from Kaitlyn Boggs and Bryson Ostrum extended the margin to 27-7 with 4:09 left until the break.
Mia Kolb added two free throws, while Marion hit on one of two trimming the gap by just one (29-10) inside the final three minutes. That seemed to spark the Devils offense some as the Red and White went on a 6-0 push with baskets from Marion and Weinstein bringing the score to 29-16. However, Boggs converted two on the line to cap the scoring for the opening 20 minutes.
Coming out of the break Ostrum and Marion exchanged foul shots in the first two minutes, before
Kate Montgomery hit one of two for her first point of the day making it 33-19 at the 2:41 mark. Buckets by Hollenshead and Kolb did nothing to chip into the halftime deficit as Sanders stuck a pull-up jumper to push it back to 15 (37-22). The two sides traded the next couple of scores until
Mia Chapman and
Gina Neigel each knocked home two at the charity line to bring Dickinson the closest they had been in a while at 41-30 still with 3:39 left in the third. Four straight by Serena Pluta bumped the lead back out to 45-30, before layups for Chapman and Marion brought the Red and White to within 45-34 after three.
After having fought an uphill battle all afternoon Dickinson finally brought the deficit under double-digits thanks to a pair of Montgomery baskets sandwiching a layup from Boggs making it 47-38 with less than a minute off the clock. The Shorewomen responded by scoring five of the next eight points with Marion hitting from behind the arc for the Devs leaving the guests behind 52-41. The Red and White then locked things up on defense over the next couple of minutes going on an 10-0 romp with buckets coming from Blackman, Hollenshead, and Kolb closing to within one 52-51 with 2:47 left. During the Devils run Washington went 0-6 from the floor and turned the ball over five times. Then, finally with 66-seconds left DC completed the comeback with a triple from Marion making it 54-52. However, Sanders had the immediate response, and the game was tied with 53-seconds remaining. A long-range miss by Marion on the ensuing possession and a rebound for Sanders prompted a home timeout with at the 9:27 mark. Off a successful inbounds pass Washington lost control of the ball and had it roll out-of-bounds leading to DC taking over with 20-seconds left. Blackman would milk the clock down to about seven seconds, before finding Hollenshead just inside the arc for a jumper which she hit nothing but net on to win the game 56-54. Â Â
Red Devils Head Coach
Aby Diop had this to say about her team after the rally "looking at the score after the first and even at halftime we could have easily been defeated and given up, but that is not the team we are. We chipped away all day and eventually started knocking down some shots and dug in defensively, but most importantly we started having fun again and that is when we are at our best. I am so proud of this team!"
Red Devil Leaders
Points – Marion (18), Kolb (9), Hollenshead (8)
Rebounds – Hollenshead and Marion (6), Montgomery (5)
Assists – Weinstein (3), Blackman and Marion (2)
Shorewomen Leaders
Points – Sanders (14), Boggs (9), Prestianne (8)
Rebounds – Sanders (12), Rose (8), Boggs (7)
Assists – Prestianne (3), Boggs and Ostrum (2)
Next on the Court
Dickinson (9-3, 6-1 Centennial) returns to the Kline Center on Tuesday night for another Centennial Conference clash as the Red and White welcome the Bears of Ursinus College. Tipoff is slated for 6pm.
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