Men’s Basketball took the No. 1 seed ahead of this week’s Centennial Conference Tournament after winning against Ursinus College 85–76 on Feb. 18.
This was a come-from-behind win for the Blue Jays, as they trailed for more than 21 minutes before an 11–4 run gave Hopkins a lead they would not squander. Ursinus opened the game on a 16–5 run before sophomore guard John Windley and senior forward Sidney Thybulle sparked a small comeback to bring the Blue Jays within five points.
Ursinus responded with a 10–3 run of their own to increase their lead to 12. In response, senior guards Lincoln Yeutter and Carson James knocked down back-to-back three-pointers. With just over eight minutes remaining in the game, Hopkins was leading 66–60.
Ursinus did make a run, however, cutting the lead to two points with just over six minutes remaining. With under one minute left in the game, the Blue Jays made nine of their ten free throws to secure the win.
Windley led the Blue Jays in scoring with 21 points, going eight-of-12 from the field. Yeutter scored 17 points, and Thybulle tallied 11 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Overall, six players finished in double digits, scoring for Hopkins as they secured the No. 1 seed in the Centennial Conference for the second consecutive year and fifth time overall.
Women’s basketball turned a one-point deficit into a 21-point victory against Ursinus thanks to a 23–3 second-half run. The Blue Jays secured the No. 1 seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament with the win on Feb. 18.
Hopkins fell behind by one point late in the third quarter. From that moment on, the Blue Jays completely flipped the script and turned the one-point deficit into a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter thanks to sophomore forward Greta Miller, freshman guard Kendall Dunham and freshman guard Elisabeth Peebles, who all made big shots down the stretch.
Any chance of a Ursinus comeback was gone, as the Blue Jays scored 13 of the first 14 points of the quarter to take a 52–33 lead. Sophomore forward Michaela O’Neil made a three-pointer that sparked a 23-point fourth quarter for the Blue Jays. Graduate student forward Olivia Parisi scored the final six points of the 13–1 run that started the fourth quarter.
The Blue Jays’ defense held Ursinus without a field goal in the fourth quarter until the four-minute mark. This victory was the 99th career win for Head Coach Katherine Bixby, who is 99–34 since taking over in 2017. This is also the fifth time the Blue Jays earned the No. 1 seed in the Centennial Conference under its current format. The last time women’s basketball secured the No. 1 seed was in 2012.
