Jan. 25, 2012

Box Score

LANCASTER, PA - With 4:28 to go in the second half, junior Alex Vassila hit her second free throw of the game to put the Johns Hopkins women's basketball team up one as the Blue Jays went on to score 10-straight points en route to a 57-46 win over Franklin & Marshall, Wednesday evening.

The Diplomats (12-6, 9-4 CC) tied the game for the sixth time with 5:56 to go with a layup from Megan Pauley. The score would hold tied 45-45 for 1:28 before Vassila drew a foul and hit the first free throw to give the Blue Jays (16-2, 11-2 CC) a slim one-point lead at 46-45. Hopkins then went on to score 10 unanswered points to lead, 55-45, with 55 seconds left on the clock. Alexa Barbush hit the front end of trip to the charity stripe, but that would prove to be the last bucket for the Diplomats as the Blue Jays went on to score the final two points of the game off two free throws from senior Stephanie Fong.

In a game that looked as though neither team would pull away, the score was held close in the first half. Johns Hopkins led for most of the first, once by as much as six but the Diplomats tied the game for the first time at 19 with 4:40 to play in the first. The teams traded baskets over the next 1:55 before the Diplomats took their first lead of the game at 26-25 with 1:55 to go before the break. Sophomore Katie Brooks converted a layup with 21 seconds to go to give the Blue Jays a 27-26 lead going into the intermission.

The second half would begin much as the first ended, with the lead changing hands twice over the first 19 seconds of play. Fong hit a layup to give the Blue Jays the lead, though the Diplomats would tie the game twice more, they would not gain the lead again. After Fong's layup, the Blue Jays scored eight-straight points to take their largest lead at that time, 36-28. The Diplomats whittled away at the lead with an 8-2 spree over the next 2:23 of play but Vassila and senior Chantel Mattiola hit back-to-back buckets to push the Blue Jay lead back to seven with 10:43 to go.

The Diplomats used a 7-2 run to tie the game twice with 5:56 to go before the Blue Jays took control for good. Vassila's good free throw at 4:28 kicked off an 11-1 spurt to close out the game for the Blue Jays.

Vassila led the Blue Jays with 12 points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Fong was close behind with 10 points and Vassila and Fong were the only two players to register double-digit points in the game. Mattiola added nine points, all from beyond the arc and has hit a three in her last 26 games.

The Blue Jays shot 38.9 percent from the field (21-for-54) while holding the Diplomats to 28.6 percent (14-for-49) from the field. The Blue Jays also won the rebounding battle, 45-33.

Hopkins returns to the court when the Blue Jays return home to host Muhlenberg in a key Centennial Conference match up featuring the top-two teams in the conference standings. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.