Jan. 12, 2006

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Senior Amanda Leese shot 11 for 16 from the field and finished with a game-high 22 points to lead Johns Hopkins past Ursinus 65-59 in Centennial Conference women's basketball action at Goldfarb Gymnasium. The Blue Jays improved to 10-3 overall and 7-0 in the conference as head coach Nancy Funk picked up her 475th career win and 17th straight victory over the Bears. Ursinus fell to 6-7, 4-4 CC with the loss.

Johns Hopkins, which defeated Ursinus by 32 and 31 points in the two meetings last season, took the first lead of the game off a Leese jumper and then pulled ahead 16-8 at 14:30 after back-to-back threes from junior Haley Wojdowski and senior Katie Kimball. The Bears, however, made an early statement that they would not let the game get out of reach as they closed in 16-13 at 13:05.

The Blue Jays went on a 13-2 run to take their largest lead of the game, 29-15, with 5:31 remaining in the first, but the Bears again responded with a run of their own to close the half down by just three. Sophomore Sarah Hennessey and junior Molly Guntli each scored two consecutive baskets to cap the 13-0 run and bring Ursinus within one point, 29-28, with 1:32 to play. Leese hit a jumper to end the Bears' rally and enter the half with Hopkins ahead 31-28.

Leese led all scorers at the break with 12 points off 6-for-8 shooting, while junior Julie Miller (eight points), Kimball (six), and Wojdowski (five) were the only other Blue Jays to score. Hennessey had a team-high nine points including two three-pointers.

Johns Hopkins built back a double-digit lead within the first five minutes of the second period, leading 40-30 at 15:20 and 46-34 at 11:14. But Ursinus stuck around, cutting its deficit to three points, 46-43, with 7:45 on the clock, and 53-50 with 3:16 to play.

After a layup by Miller and a score by Daley on the other end, senior Katie O'Malley found Leese twice in the paint to give Hopkins the 59-52 lead with 1:35 remaining, forcing Ursinus to foul to stop the clock. O'Malley hit 3 of 4 free throws, Wojdowski added two, and Miller chipped in one to help the Blue Jays outlast the Bears 65-59.

Wojdowski hit 3 of 6 three-pointers and finished with 13 points, marking the fourth straight game she has scored in double figures, while Miller added 11 points and five rebounds. Leese's six boards were a team-high as the Blue Jays were out-rebounded 37-29. Johns Hopkins shot 41.8 percent from the field, while Ursinus shot 42.6. Daley had a team-best 20 points, joining Guntli (13 points) and Hennessey (12) in double figures.

The Blue Jays travel to Muhlenberg this Saturday at 4 pm.