BRYN MAWR, Pa. – Looking to end the 2021 portion of their season on a high note, the Bryn Mawr basketball team faced non-conference action Friday night as they played against the Bryn Athyn Lions at home. With leading scorer Jessica Smith out due to injury, the team looked to rally behind one another to pull off the win and end their six-game losing streak. While the Lions proved to be some stiff competition, making the Owls fight and earn every single point, a three-point shot from Aliya Stubenbord with 15 seconds left proved to be enough as Bryn Mawr picked up the win, 47-44, moving to 4-6 this season. Sydney Collins and Hannah Binder led for the Owls, racking in 13 and 10 points respectively while Norma Thornhill led the Lions with 12 points.

Bryn Athyn pulled ahead early in the first quarter with a six-point run that met its timely end with a layup from Collins, assisted by Stubenbord, to put the scoreboard at 2-6. Despite meeting field goal for field goal on their next possessions, both teams would enter three minutes of back-and-forth play that saw great shot opportunities that fell just short. Hallie Kern lined up for the first free throws of the game, nailing one to up the score to 5-8. Binder followed with a layup to bring the Owls within one, but a resounding layup from the Lions' Terrae Lewis with 20 seconds left put Bryn Athyn back up by three as the first quarter wrapped up with the score at 7-10.

The second quarter got off to a hot start by the Owls as they looked to close in on the Lions' lead, with Zoe Boxill landing an early jumper and Collins picking up another layup to bring the score back within one. Boxill drew a foul 30 seconds later, earning and sinking two free throws to give Bryn Mawr their first lead of the game at 13-12. While Bryn Athyn managed to tie the game on multiple occasions, the Owls remained in control of the game, that is until the Lions' Alexis Mitchem picked up a beautiful three-pointer to put Bryn Athyn back in the lead. Bryn Mawr continued to bring the fight as Stubenbord mirrored Mitchem with a three-pointer of her own to tie at 20-20, but another last second layup from Bryn Athyn's Keziah Mitchell-Reyes put the score at 20-22 going into halftime.

After the half, the Lions looked recharged and ready to extend their lead, taking the first points of the third quarter with a free throw and shot from Kayla Duncan, but the now five-point lead was short lived as Kern answered with a jump shot, bringing the Bryn Athyn lead down to three. The Owls continued to bring the pressure as Collins landed a free throw and layup to tie the Lions, but Ella Kotsen kept momentum going as she'd make a layup and give Bryn Mawr the lead once again at 27-25. While Bryn Athyn went on a five-point run to regain the lead, the Owls fought back the last five minutes of the quarter with Stubenbord nailing two free throws and a layup from Boxil to bring Bryn Mawr back within one. A jump shot from Alanna Mora-Mickens proved to be the difference maker as the Owls once again picked up the lead, but this time held it at the end of third with the score at 33-32.

With the tables turning and the score on their side, Bryn Mawr got off to another hot start, extending their lead with consecutive jump shots from Collins, but the Lions quickly bounced back to tie the Owls at 37-37. Binder continued her impressive showing of the night as she followed in Collins's footsteps with back-to-back shots of her own, while Meijer picked up two more free throw attempts, landing one to put the score at 42-40. However, Bryn Athyn showed no signs of giving up, tying the Owls twice more to put the score at 44-44 with just 1:18 left in regulation. Leaving it all on the court, the two teams battled on to see who would step up to the plate to cement victory for their respective team and with 15 seconds left, it was Stubenbord who sunk a three-point shot to put the Owls up 47-44. Reilly Ward looked to find the equalizer for the Lions, but with two three-pointers missed and the clock expired, the Owls walked away with the victory in thrilling fashion.

With a win behind them, the Owls now face three and a half weeks off from competition with the holiday season right around the corner. They will go into the new year sitting at 4-6 (0-6 Centennial) with their next competition scheduled for January 5 at Penn State Brandywine. Tip-off is at 7:00PM.