BALTIMORE, MD – The top-seeded Johns Hopokins women's basketball team outscored fourth-seeded Haverford 39-14 in the second and third quarters combined to turn an early nine-point deficit into an 18-point lead they never relinquished as the Blue Jays advanced to the Centennial Conference Championship game for the second consecutive year with a 56-46 victory in Goldfarb Gymnasium Friday evening.
 
In addition to advancing to the title game, the Blue Jays also handed head coach Katherine Bixby her 100^th victory as the head coach at Johns Hopkins; Bixby is now 100-34 in her time as the head coach at Johns Hopkins.
 
Hopkins (21-5) had trailed 13-4 late in the first quarter, but carried a 22-15 lead into the third period before pulling away by outscoring the Fords 23-12 in the pivotal third.
 
A quick 7-0 run to open the second half doubled the seven-point halftime lead as the Blue Jays pushed out to a 29-15 advantage.  A traditional three-point play from sophomore Greta Miller and back-to-back jumpers from Michaela O'Neil accounted for the seven Blue Jay points.
 
Haverford (16-10) stayed within striking distance and used a 10-4 spurt to trim a 31-17 deficit to eight at 35-27 with 4:39 remaining in the quarter.  Gia Flamini and Kayla Robinson both scored four points during the run for the Fords, but a Kendall Dunham floater ignited an 8-0 quarter-ending run that gave the Blue Jays a 45-27 lead with 10 minutes remaining.
 
The Blue Jays led by as many as 17 in the fourth at 47-30 on turnaround jumper from Olivia Parisi and still led 51-36 with less than 90 seconds remaining before the Fords used a quick 8-0 run to force the Blue Jays to seal it at three free throw line in the final 30 seconds.
 
The Fords had wasted little time jumping on the top-seeded Blue Jays as they sprinted out to a 10-2 lead just over seven minutes into the game.  Carolyn Morris and Ally Landau both scored four points during the game-opening spree for the Fords, who held the Blue Jays to just the two points through more than seven minutes of action.
 
Trailing 13-6 at the end of the first quarter, the Blue Jays took control by outscoring the Fords 16-2 in the second quarter.  It took just under four minutes of the period for the Blue Jays to pull even at 13-all and they had a one-point lead at 16-15 before late buckets from Zoe Soule, Dunham and O'Neil gave the Blue Jays a 22-15 lead at halftime.  That lead doubled quickly in the third quarter and the Blue Jays weren't seriously threatened until the late Haverford spurt that trimmed the margin to seven before JHU sealed it at the line.
 
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• Parisi scored a team-high 18 points and added four rebounds and O'Neil added 14 points and five rebounds.
• Dunham chipped in with seven points and three rebounds and Miller paced the Blue Jays on the boards with eight and contributed five points as well.
• Johns Hopkins held a 41-38 advantage on the boards and have now won the rebounding battle 16 straight times and 22 times in 26 games this season.
 
Inside the Box Score – Haverford
• Landau matched Parisi as she scored a team-high 18 points, while Robinson chipped in a double-double that included 11 points and 13 rebounds.
• The Fords hit 13 field goals in the first and fourth quarters combined, but just six total in the pivotal second and third quarters.
 
Other Notes of Interest
• Johns Hopkins will be making its 16^th appearance in the Centennial Conference Championship game and second under Bixby.
 
Up Next
• The Blue Jays will host Gettysburg in the Centennial title game on Sunday, February 26.  The time of the game will be determined later this evening.