By Jordan Fairchild
Elm Staff Writer
On Thursday, Dec. 2, the Washington College women’s basketball team played Centennial Conference opponent Johns Hopkins University at home in Penny J. Fall Gymnasium on Finnegan Court. The Blue Jays defeated the Shorewomen, 56–41.
The Shorewomen held the first lead of the game off of a layup from junior Andrea Prestianne, which brought the score to 6–4 with 6:10 left in the first quarter.
The Shorewomen held onto a 10–9 lead with a jumper from freshman Karry Kelliher, but the Blue Jays took the lead going into the second quarter. Pluta was able to bring the score within three points with a jumper.
The Blue Jays had the lead, 29–20, at the half.
During the third quarter, Prestianne and junior Joy Sanders brought the score to 33–24 with back-to-back possessions.
At 43–24, the Blue Jays were winning still, but the Shorewomen were able to close the deficit to 30-44 with plays from junior Lizzie Hudock and senior Crystal Jones.
A six-point run, led by Jones and senior Madeline Williams, brought the Shorewomen to 36–46 with less than seven minutes to go in the game.
The Blue Jays would cap the score at 56–41, a loss for the Shorewomen.
Prestianne and Kelliher each scored eight points during the contest, a career-high for Kelliher. Kelliher was also 6–6 from the free-throw line. Pluta had seven rebounds to tie for the game-high, with Prestianne adding five as well.
The Shorewomen shot 25% from the paint and 86.4% from the foul line.
“Our motto this year is ‘climbing the ladder,’ so we focus on working our hardest against our opponents to keep them below their average,” Pluta said. “The team has been very successful in stopping the other team’s top scorers and playing team defense.”
On Saturday, Dec. 4, the Shorewomen traveled to Gettysburg, Pa. to compete against Conference opponent Gettysburg College. The Bullets took a 62–53 victory over the Shorewomen.
Prestianne and Hudock had a combined nine points during the opening four minutes of the game, which gave the Shorewomen an 11–5 lead.
The Bullets went on a run, but the Shorewomen reclaimed a 16–15 lead at the end of the first quarter with a layup from Hudock, assisted by Jones.
The Shorewomen ran behind for most of the second quarter, but were brought back within three points with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer from Williams with 2:07 left until the half.
The Shorewomen were behind 29–33 going into the half.
Jones opened the third quarter with a three-pointer to bring the score to 32–33, but the Bullets went on a run, securing a 40–34 lead over the Shorewomen.
Kelliher would close out the third quarter score at 38–41 with two free throws.
Jones brought the score within five again with 2:20 left in the contest, but the Shorewomen were unable to come back and the Bullets took the victory with a final score of 62–53.
Jones had a season-high 17 points along with seven rebounds. Hudock and Prestianne each scored 10 points; Prestianne had two steals and six rebounds during the contest.
The Shorewomen shot 30.6% from the paint, 28.6% from the three-point range, and 61.1% from the foul line.
“The team has been successful at staying together during adversity,” Jones said. “We’ve played some really tough teams so far and we’ve had a couple early losses, so we have to keep a positive mindset for our last game of 2021 and start 2022 on a roll.”
The Shorewomen are 6–3 overall, 3–2 in Conference play. The Shorewomen will go on to play Immaculata University at home next Saturday.
Photo by Grace Hazlehurst