By Miranda Parrish
Elm Staff Writer
The Washington College Shorewomen hosted the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats at the Penny J. Fall Gymnasium for their first Centennial Conference game of the season on Nov. 19.
“Tomorrow’s game will be a great first test for our team considering it is the first centennial conference game we will be playing in. I think we will learn a lot about who we are as a team and how we will play together as the season goes on,” said senior guard Andrea Prestianne.
In the first quarter, the Shorewomen quickly took the lead, scoring ten points within the first five minutes of the game. Two three pointers, one scored by junior guard Amari Faust and senior guard Joy Sanders, helped the Shorewomen take the lead.
In the second quarter, senior guard Andrea Prestianne made several jumpers for the College, helping the Shorewomen take an eleven-point lead. At halftime, the Shorewomen led 28-17.
In the second half, the Diplomats came back, scoring over 20 points in the third quarter. Junior forward Rachel Thiem scored several three pointers, keeping the Shorewomen in the lead. At the end of the third quarter, the College was winning 42-34.
In the fourth quarter, the Diplomats went on a scoring run. Within the last minute had a three-point lead over the Shorewomen at 48-51. A foul by the Diplomats allowed freshman center Kaitlyn Boggs to make one of her free throws, putting the Shorewomen 49-51. With 11 seconds remaining, senior guard Joy Sanders made a jumper, tying the game 51-51. A foul on Sanders four seconds later gave way to the Diplomats taking two free throws, making one of the two. The score was 51-52. In the last two seconds of the game, Sanders assisted by senior guard Prestianne made a layup, scoring two points and winning the game for the Shorewomen with a score of 53-52.
“Our past games have shown and taught us a lot. Our first game we came out with a slow start, from that we know we need to come out stronger, so we don’t fall behind too soon. The game against [Division one University of Maryland, Eastern Shore] showed a lot in the fact that we can play against tough pressure. All games have definitely got us ready for the true test against our first conference opponent Franklin and Marshall. Of course, winning a conference championship is the main goal but more specifically trying to just be better than we were last season. Our team has a lot of young talent and a lot of new faces so learning to play together will be crucial for our success,” Prestianne said.
The Shorewomen look to their next home game on Dec. 3 against the Gettysburg Bullets at 3 pm.
Photo courtesy of Grace Hazlehurst
Photo Caption: Senior guard Joy Sanders scoring over a Marymount University defender in their home game on Nov. 15.