Box Score
NASSAU, Bahamas – Hardin-Simmons University scored 18 of the first 20 points against Gettysburg College and that proved to be the difference as the Cowgirls downed the Bullets 75-61 in the opening contest of the Bahamas Sunshine Shootout Friday afternoon.
Hardin-Simmons (5-2) scored the first bucket on Friday, but was answered in turn by Gettysburg (4-3) guard
Allie Drechsler (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) 34 seconds in. That Bullets bucket would be the last until Drechsler converted an old-fashioned three-point play at 14:06. In the meantime, the Cowgirls reeled off a 16-0 run as all five starters put tallies in the book.
Gettysburg crawled its way back over the next seven minutes and cut the deficit to eight (24-16) on a jumper by
Sara Kinsley (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) at 7:04. Hardin-Simmons upped the lead back to double figures with a 6-0 run and capped the half with a score by Bo Warm to take a 34-21 lead at the break.
The teams traded scores in the early stages of the second period before Gettysburg went on an 8-0 spurt, trimming a 17-point deficit to nine (45-36) on a layup by sophomore
Caitlin Moser (Wyomissing, Pa./Wyomissing) at 10:30. Just over a minute later, junior
Margaret White (Burke, Va./James W. Robinson) dropped in a three-pointer to cut the Cowgirl advantage to just eight (49-41) with 9:18 left to play.
Junior Haylee Allen, who scored 18 of her game-high 21 in the second half, put Hardin-Simmons back on top by double figures with back-to-back scores and continued her offensive onslaught by netting 14 of the Cowgirls’ final 25 points. Gettysburg got no closer than 12 points in the final five minutes of play.
In a tale of two halve, the Bullets canned almost 55 percent of their shot attempts in the second half and nearly doubled their first-half offensive output with 40 points. Junior
Courtney Fields (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) and Moser led the second-half charge with a combined 21 points. Field tallied a team-high 16 points in the contest, while Moser ended the afternoon with 14. In the backcourt, Drechsler posted nine points and sophomore
Mary Spicer (Floral Park, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) tallied six points, five rebounds, and seven assists.
Hardin-Simmons won the battle on the boards 47-39 and canned 18-of-20 attempts from the free throw line. Allen led the way, finishing 8-of-12 from the field, including 3-for-3 from distance, and 2-of-4 from the charity stripe. Kristen Harris added 14 points and eight rebounds, while Lindsey Newcombe notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.
Gettysburg will play Wentworth Institute of Technology in the consolation game of the Bahamas Sunshine Shootout at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20.
