BRYN MAWR, Pa. – The Owls basketball team competed earlier Monday evening against tough competition in their penultimate home game against the Bullets of Gettysburg. Bryn Mawr welcomed back teammate Zoe Boxill who would be playing her first game of the 2022-23 season. Senior Ella Kotsen and sophomore Sena Kaper-Dale displayed strong grit in the fourth quarter, asserting themselves in every opportunity to give the Owls a higher chance to score. Unfortunately, the Gettysburg's strong offense and extensive lead proved too great, and the Bullets took home the win (71-12).
Both teams were quick to the gate in the first quarter, Gettysburg Emily Violante making the first bucket of the day on a layup. Neither team found another basket over the next two minutes until sophomore Kris Pasia made a jumper after a defensive rebound from senior Alanna Mora-Mickens. Unfortunately, this would be the only made basket of the quarter for the Owls, and Gettysburg took an early 17-2 lead at the end of the first.
"We did such a great job forcing a tough shot, said head coach Carla Coleman, "but we couldn't capitalize on their first misses."
The second quarter did not fair much better for the Owls as the momentum they had shown early in the first quarter appeared to dwindle. Kaper-Dale made the lone shot of the quarter for Bryn Mawr and Gettysburg extended their lead to 38-4 by the end of the first half.
Bryn Mawr struggled to overcome the strong Gettysburg offense throughout the first half of the third quarter. Finally, the Owls got a break after a Gettysburg foul, awarding Kaper-Dale two free throws, of which they made both. Before the end of the quarter, Boxill, looked for her first points of the season, seeing an opportunity with three minutes remaining in the third. Taking advantage of a defensive rebound after a missed three-pointer by Gettysburg Courtney Kelly, Boxill made a break for it. Boxill sprinted towards the Bryn Mawr bucket in the hopes of adding to the scoreboard, but it would not be the sophomore's moment as Boxill found herself blocked by a Gettysburg player. The Owls had a few other scoring opportunities, but were unable to find the bucket, and the Bullets extended their lead to 58-6.
Bryn Mawr had one last opportunity to minimize the Gettysburg lead in the fourth quarter, with Kotsen and Kaper-Dale leading the charge by becoming more aggressive to give their team more opportunities for a basket. After a missed layup by Kotsen, Kaper-Dale rebounded and immediately made a layup, to end the Owls' dry spell of almost five minutes without a bucket. Less than a minute later, Kotsen had another scoring opportunity, this time making a layup with an assist by Kaper-Dale. Kotsen would make one final jumper for the Owls, but it would be the last made basket for Bryn Mawr as Gettysburg continued to run the scoreboard and tally a score of 71-12 at the end of the fourth.
"I always tell my team that we either win or learn," said Coach Coleman. "We can learn a lot from this game."
Bryn Mawr will travel to Baltimore, Md. on Wednesday to play against Johns Hopkins in their final away game of the season before returning to their home court on Saturday to welcome Dickinson for the Owls' senior day, and final 2022-23 regular season game.
