Bulldogs Pull Away Late; Tie Consecutive Home Win Streak

Freshman Megan Bedard had a season-high 11 points in the win over Gwynedd-Mercy.

Box Score

BOX SCORE

Center Valley, PA (December 8, 2008) – The DeSales University women's basketball team out-scored Gwynedd-Mercy College, 27-8, over the final 8:15 to pull away from the Griffins with a 72-51 win and its 19^th straight home win, tying the record for most consecutive victories in Billera Hall on Monday evening.

The Bulldogs earn their third straight win overall and improve to 6-1 on the season, while the Griffins fall to 5-2 overall. DSU shook off a poor shooting first half by torching the nets in the second half at a 50.0 percent (16-of-32) clip. DeSales forced 24 GMC turnovers and out-rebounded Gwynedd, 46-40, in the win.

A back-and-forth game over the first 30+ minutes featured 16 lead changes and five ties before the Bulldogs broke it open. In the opening half, the Griffins used a 10-0 run to take a 15-8 lead as Erica Fulforth scored on a conventional three-point play at the 13:03 mark. DSU answered the GMC spurt with an 13-4 run of its own to re-claim the lead at 21-19 on a triple from junior Kaila Wiand (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford) at the 6:51 mark of the opening half.

Neither team was able to gain a lead larger than three points the rest of the opening half before the Bulldogs' Shaina Dymond (Shickshinny, PA/Northwest) hit a lay-up with 23 seconds left to give DeSales a 28-27 lead as both teams went to the locker room.

The second-half started out in a similar fashion as DeSales seemed ready to distance itself from the Griffins but were unable to do so until the 8:15 mark. A six point-lead for the Bulldogs early in the half was erased with a quick 6-0 Gwynedd run but leading by two points, 45-43, DSU pulled away closing the game on a 27-8 run that sealed the deal.

In the game-clinching spurt, Rarick started the rally with two free throws. Freshman Hannah Smith (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) hit back-to-back jumpers giving DeSales an eight-point cushion before senior LeighAnn Burke (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) caught fire with eight straight points and a team-high 10 tallies during the final surge.

Burke finished the game with a team-high 17 points, 15 in the second half, on 6-of-12 shooting. She added five rebounds, five assists, and blocked two shots. Senior Kim Rarick (Ringtown, PA/North Schuylkill) added 16 points, thanks in part to another terrific effort at the line canning all 10 of her charity tosses. She added four assists and three steals.

Freshman Megan Bedard (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) was terrific off the bench, hitting for a season-high 11 points and dishing out three assists, while Wiand tallied 12 points and pulled down five boards. Smith finished with six points off the bench in just eight minutes and junior Caitlin Miller (Fogelsville, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) was once again dominant on the glass, tying her career-high with 17 pulls, including nine offensive boards.

Kate Wisniewski led the Griffin attack as the lone scorer in double digits with 19 points. Sophomore Lauren Rosar finished with eight points and nine boards in the loss.

The home win streak dates back to last season when DSU posted a perfect 15-0 mark and ties the record set during parts of the three seasons in the early 90's. The Bulldogs will return to action on Saturday, December 13^th when they host Messiah College in another non-conference game beginning at 1:00 pm.

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