December 2, 2006
Garnet Best Pioneers, 51-45, in Overtime
HAVERFORD, PA– Second-seeded Swarthmore
has moved on, and will face top-seeded Mount Holyoke for the third
consecutive season after defeating third-seeded Smith, 51-45, in
an overtime, in a semifinal game at the 2006 Seven Sisters Tournament.
Both teams battled into the overtime period squared away at 40 a
piece. In overtime, Swarthmore's Melissa Grigsby hit a three-pointer
from Amber Wantman to give the Garnet a 43-40 lead early in the
extra period. Smith's Rosie Baldwin hit a jumper to pull the Pioneers
within one point at 43-42 with 3:00 to go. After Swarthmore's Jess
Fuhr was called for a charge, Smith's Helena Charron made a lay
up to give Smith a 44-43 advantage. The lead wouldn't last long,
as the Garnet's Lisa Schumacher made a shot, giving the lead back
to Swarthmore with 1:28 remaining. Cherron went to the line after
she was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound, and connected
on one of two attempts to knot the score at 45 a piece. Berk tallied
her tournament-high 21st point down low, posting up on a Smith defender
to put the Garnet ahead, 47-45. Wantman was fouled on the Swarthmore
inbound, and made both free throws to secure the 51-45 Garnet win.
In addition to her 21 points, Berk also grabbed 11 rebounds. Fuhr
contributed 11 points and five rebounds, while Pamela Costello also
collected 11 rebounds in the win.
Charron led Smith with a team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds, while
Berit Schelde had 13 points and ten rebounds. Lisa Marie Vuono contributed
nine points and 10 rebounds in the loss for Smith.
The Garnet will look to end Mount Holyoke's bid for a fifth straight
Seven Sisters championships on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Smith will square
off against Vassar in the third place game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
