By Isabella Sansanelli
Elm Staff Writer
The Washington College women’s basketball team faced off in two Centennial Conference matches this week against Swarthmore College and Franklin and Marshall College, picking up one win and one loss respectively.
On Wednesday, Jan. 30, the Shorewomen swept the Garnets in a 71-39 win played at Swarthmore, outscoring the Garnets in every quarter, with the exception of the first.
The Shorewomen came out strong, scoring the first six points of the game only to be dominated swiftly by the Garnets in a 14-8 final score of the first quarter.
The team started the second quarter on the same high note of six straight points, only to instead build momentum off the strong start. They ended up outscoring the Garnet with 10 points by the end of the quarter. In the start of the fourth, a shot by junior forward Cassidy Quattro gave the Shorewomen a twenty-point lead to their ultimate 32-point gap to win them the game.
Junior guard and captain Caitlyn Clark tallied a total of 10 points and the team high of five assists for the game.
“We really had a great team win on Wednesday night against Swat,” she said. “Our team held them under 40 points and we shot the ball well as a team. Everyone played hard the entire 40 minutes and each player contributed to the great win on the road.”
The Shorewomen took on their second Conference opponent of the week in Cain gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 2 as they matched up against Franklin and Marshall in a tough, yet thrilling, 66-61 loss in overtime.
The Shorewomen started off with a 12-0 run and kept a steady lead throughout the game, until the Diplomats outscored them 16-5 in the fourth quarter, bringing the game to a thrilling overtime tiebreaker. After two layups in the first 30 seconds by Franklin and Marshall, the Shorewomen came back with only 34 seconds remaining while junior Bridget McLaughlin and Clark both sunk jumpers to trim the lead by F&M.
Two free throws by F&M solidified their 66-61 lead and ended the game with a loss for the Shorewomen.
McLaughlin, who scored the game high in points garnering 14 for the team, commented on the match, “Today was a tough loss, but we know we can play with some of the best teams in the conference so we are going to keep up that mentality for the rest of the season.”
In addition to the two Conference games, on Saturday. Feb. 2, the Shorewomen also hosted their Alumni Game where graduates of the WC basketball program were able to come back and compete in their home stadium even after their undergraduate years.