CARLISLE, Pa. - The Dickinson women's basketball team entered the biggest week of their season with two things on their mind. Two wins against a pair of nationally-ranked foes would not only help them climb up the conference standings, but also put them on the edge of school history as they would match the longest win streak in program history at 13. Unfortunately, a rough start and a hot-shooting (50%) Gettysburg College allowed the 24th-ranked Bullets to leave the Kline Center with a 64-55 Centennial Conference win on Tuesday night.
Dickinson fell behind early 8-2 as Alayna Arnolie, Kimberly Hopkins and Emily Violante produced the offense for the visitors. A pair of layups from
Victoria Zerbe pulled the hosts to within 9-6, before a triple by Arnolie had the guests "doubling up" the Devils at 12-6. The Red and White would make sure to capture the momentum entering the second with Zerbe setting up
Abby John for a layup, prior to
Clair Marion delivering from past the NBA three-point arc to make it 15-11 GC through one.
After five more points for Arnolie inside the opening two minutes of the second,
Jenna Weinstein and John would rack up six in a row for the home side to bring DC within 20-17 with six minutes gone. Two foul shots each from Arnolie and Violante surrounded a pull-up by Marion leaving it at 24-19 with just a little over two minutes left.
Lindsey Hollenshead would then get herself into the action as she found
Caitlin Blackman for a two-point jumper, before stepping outside the arc herself to deliver a triple to knot the score 24-24. However, Mackenzie Szlosek would split a pair on the charity line just prior to horn giving the Bullets a 25-24 edge at the half. In the first half, Gettysburg collected ten points from the line going 10-of-13, while the Devils did not attempt a single one.
The third period provided a lot of offensive fireworks with each team posting 20 points. Jumpers from Hollenshead, Marion and Zerbe helped to bring DC to the front 31-30 with two minutes off the clock. Another basket by Arnolie was answered by a three for Marion (34-32), but once again Arnolie had the answer sticking a three of her own for the 35-34 advantage. Then, at the 4:35 mark Dickinson finally went to the foul line where Marion drilled two, followed by a John jumper (Blackman assist) to open up a three-point cushion (38-35). Eight of the next dozen went the way of Gettysburg with six more coming from Arnolie to grab a 45-42 lead. However, the scoring was not done as Blackman hit a pull-up in the final seconds to leave the Devils behind by the slimmest of margins going to the fourth (45-44).
To begin the fourth the electric "Red Out" crowd inside the Kline was at a fever pitch as a pair of Zerbe buckets brought the Red and White level at 47-47 with 8:31 left. Arnolie, Szlosek and Violante responded with six straight to lead 53-47, but a personal 6-2 run by Marion cut the deficit down to 55-53 at the 5:23 mark. Unfortunately, for the home side they would miss their next nine shots from the floor, while the visitors amassed a 9-2 charge (seven coming at the foul line) to seal up the 64-55 win.
Red Devil Leaders
Points - Marion (21), Zerbe (9), John (8)
Assists - Zerbe (5), Hollenshead (3), Blackman (2)
Rebounds - Zerbe (7), John (6), Marion (5)
Bullet Leaders
Points - Arnolie (30), Szlosek (15)
Assists - Arnolie and Holsinger (2)
Rebounds - Lee (10), Szlosek (7)
Postseason Outlook
The Red and White appeared in the first NCAA Regional rankings today along with fellow conference foes Gettysburg and Johns Hopkins. With the loss tonight, the Red and White have all but assured themselves of the number three seed in the upcoming Centennial Conference tournament which would give the Devils a home game on February 20th. Dickinson could possibly improve their seed, but would need a win against Johns Hopkins on Thursday to even make that a potential option.
Next on the Court
Dickinson (16-5, 13-3 Centennial) is back on the Kline Center floor on Thursday night for a "WHITE OUT" when they welcome the 11th-ranked Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins to Carlisle for a 7pm tip.
