Travelling to Bryn Mawr, Pa. to take on the Bryn Mawr College Owls, the Hopkins women’s basketball team continued its strong season in convincing fashion this past Saturday.
The contest started off slowly, as both defenses clamped down on one another, leaving the score after almost five minutes at just 7–5 in favor of the Owls. Hopkins was able to begin its offensive push at the tail end of the first quarter on the back of six straight points by sophomore forward Elise Moore. A buzzer beating jump shot by senior guard Lexie Scholtz gave Hopkins a 13–7 lead at the close of the first quarter.
Riding the momentum of their eight-point run to close out the first 10 minutes of gameplay, the Blue Jays continued to light up the scoreboard with senior guard Madison McGrath nailing a jump shot and freshman guard Diarra Oden adding four points in the paint to give Hopkins a 19-7 lead.
This hot start gave way to a second quarter that saw the Blue Jays widen the margin between them and their Centennial Conference foe to 18 points as five Blue Jays — Oden, McGrath, Scholtz, senior guard Lillian Scott and freshman forward Erin Walsh — all contributed on the scoreboard as the first half ended with Hopkins ahead 33–15, led by Scholtz and Oden with seven points apiece, along with five and seven rebounds respectively, and Moore and Scott with five and six points each.
The second half would be a precursor for what was to come, as Hopkins continued to pile it on the Owls in the third quarter. Senior forward Maggie Spitzer’s layup with 7:13 left in the third gave the Blue Jays a 20-point lead at 40-20, and it only got worse from there for Bryn Mawr. The Jays closed out the quarter with a 12–7 run to give themselves plenty of breathing room with a 25-point lead.
The final 10 minutes of the game finished as it started: back and forth between the two squads as Hopkins rode out the fourth quarter on its way to a 64–37 victory.
Scholtz once again paved the way for Hopkins with six points in the second half to give her a team high 13 on the day, along with another five rebounds to give her 10 and a double-double. Spitzer tallied five of her own in the second half to give her seven total. Ten different Jays accounted for the 31 second half points.
The dominant performance by Hopkins was highlighted by its defense, post presence and ability to grab the ball off of the boards. The team surrendered the fewest points that it had all year, held the Owls to 22 percent shooting, led in points in the paint 34–14 and had a 52-33 rebound advantage. The Blue Jay bench also accounted for 25 points while the Owls amassed just seven. Spitzer talked about the team’s convincing victory after the game.
“Bryn Mawr was a solid team win for us. We gained a lot of confidence in making reads within our offense, while focusing on using our defensive intensity and fundamentals to fuel transition opportunities,” Spitzer said.
As the season nears its end, Spitzer and the Blue Jays are as determined as ever to finish the season strong and go into the Centennial Conference tournament with momentum.
“We are just looking to treat every game like it’s part of the tournament. With that mindset, we want to focus on ourselves and use each game to propel us forward,” Spitzer said.
The victory improves Hopkins’ record to 18–3 on the year overall and 14-2 in the Centennial Conference. Bryn Mawr falls to 1-19 overall with a 0-15 record in the Centennial. The Blue Jays will return to Goldfarb Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 9 when they take on the Muhlenberg College Mules. Tip off is set for 2:00.
