Feb. 2, 2011

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Gettysburg junior Julie McGrory hit a clutch jumper as time expired to force overtime and the visiting Bullets outscored Johns Hopkins 10-6 in the extra session to secure a 61-57 win on Wednesday night in Goldfarb Gym. The loss puts an end to the Blue Jays' seven-game winning streak as JHU drops to 16-4 (13-3 CC), while Gettysburg improves to 15-5 (10-5 CC) with the win.

After taking a 25-21 lead into the half, JHU took its largest lead of the contest at 33-25 on a layup from senior Lyndsay Burton with 16:52 remaining. The Bullets then reeled off nine straight points to retake the lead, 34-33.

The two sides exchanged leads four times over the next eight minutes until the score was knotted at 47-47 with just 2:42 left. McGrory sank a jumper on the Bullets next possession to give them a two-point advantage with 2:27 on the clock, but the lead was short-lived as Burton drilled a jumper on the other end.

With under a minute to play, sophomore Alex Vassila drove to her right and finished a running layup as the shot clock was winding down, while also getting fouled on the play. Vassila was unable to complete the three-point play, but collected the offensive rebound on her miss, forcing the Bullets to commit a foul with 21 seconds left.

Vassila was unable to connect on the free throw attempts, giving Gettysburg one last chance on the other end. The Bullets worked the ball around the perimeter several times, before McGrory found herself with the ball on the right baseline with under 10 seconds left.

The Blue Jays blocked the junior's first shot attempt, but McGrory stuck with the play and regained possession of the ball. Her next shot attempt hit the side of the backboard, but she was able to collect another offensive board and proceeded to drill an eight-foot jumper as time expired to force overtime.

The Bullets carried the momentum from McGrory's play into the extra session, jumping out to a 57-51 lead with under three minutes to left.

Trailing 59-54 with under 1:30 remaining, the Blue Jays were in need of a bucket. Junior Stephanie Fong came through with her sixth three-pointer of the game from the left wing to cut the Bullets advantage to two, but senior Mary Spicer banked in an off-balance running layup with just 27 seconds left and Gettysburg eked out the four-point win.

Fong led Hopkins in scoring for the third straight game with a game-high 19 points, including 6-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Burton (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Vassila (10 points, 12 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles in the loss.

McGrory posted 17 points and seven boards for the Bullets, while sophomore Alyssa Oursler added 14 points and grabbed seven boards.

The Blue Jays return to action on Saturday, February 5 against Swarthmore. Game time is set for 3 pm in Goldfarb Gym.