Game Info: Wednesday, November 20 - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Tarble Pavilion - Swarthmore, Pa.
Social Media: @WidenerSports |
@WUWBB
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Opening Tip
The Widener University women's basketball team returns to the road, making the short trip along Route 320 to take on the Swarthmore Garnet on Wednesday, November 20. Tipoff from Tarble Pavilion is scheduled for 6:00 p.m..
Last Time Out
Erin Phelan scored eight of her team-high 15 points in the final five minutes as the Pride claimed a 63-57 win against Salisbury in its home opener on Thursday night.
Both teams displayed some excellent shotmaking in the final quarter, in which neither team held more than a six-point lead. Salisbury pulled on top 50-49 on a free throw midway through the frame. The Pride then summoned an 11-4 run to go up 60-54 with just less than two minutes remaining.
Both teams started the game off slowly as the score stood just 3-2 in favor of the Sea Gulls with less than three minutes to play in the opening quarter before a Salisbury run extended the lead to 8-3. The Blue and Gold responded, netting the final two buckets of the first quarter and carried the momentum into the second, outscoring SU 15-11 in the frame, taking a 22-19 into halftime.
Widener opened the third period strong, scoring the first six points of the quarter and 13 of the initial 17 points of the frame, six of them coming from
Nicole Barnes, building a 35-23 advantage. The Sea Gulls crowed back, going on a 13-0 run to take a 36-35 lead with just more than a minute to go. WU responded, as a basket from
Jasmine Franklin and a free throw from
Devan Rimmer gave the Pride a slight 38-36 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
BY THE NUMBERS
- To go along with her point total, Phelan also grabbed seven rebounds.
- Rimmer posted 14 points in the game.
- Kyra Schenk had scored nine and had nine boards.
- Nicole Barnes filled the stat sheet with six points, six rebounds, and four assists.
- As a team, Widener shot 58.3 percent (14-for-24) in the second half.
Scouting Report
Swarthmore is 1-1 overall and is coming off an 83-57 home win against Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday. The Garnet was voted 10th out of 11 teams in the Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll.
Three players are scoring in double figures during the opening pair of games, led by Karinna Papke at 13.0 per game, followed by Kendall Tribus and Dana Bandurick at 11.5 and 10.5 respectively. Tribus leads in rebounding, pulling in 10.5 a night. Bandurick and Elizabeth Stiles each have seven assists.
One thing that has helped the Garnet is the turnover game. Through two games this season, Swarthmore is averaging 12 turnovers per contest and is a +4.5 in turnover margin. A year ago, the Garnet coughed the ball up 17 times a contest and were -3.5 in turnover margin.
Candice Signor-Brown is in her first season as the head coach of Swarthmore. She spent the past 10 seasons as the head coach at Vassar where she compiled a 159-106 record and led the team to the NCAA Tournament four times, earning Liberty League Coach of the Year accolades on three occasions.
Welcome Back!
Three games into her tenure with the Pride, Widener assistant coach
Brianne Comden returns to Tarble Pavilion. Comden was an assistant with Swarthmore the past two seasons.
A Little Better
Three games into the season, Widener is shooting better than last year, connecting on 43.0 percent of its shots from the field as compared to 40.5 percent last year.
A Little Worse
The Blue and Gold was among the national leaders last season with 43.4 boards per game. This year, Widener has gotten off to a slow start with 37.0 caroms a contest.
Early Expectations
Widener was selected as the preseason favorite to win the MAC Commonwealth according to the preseason coaches poll as announced by the league on October 31. The top three teams were separated by just three points as the Pride garnered 57 points, Messiah had 55, and Lycoming earned 54.
A Chance To Build (Part I)
14 players return for the Blue and Gold this season including three All-Conference performers and four starters.
Devan Rimmer was First Team MAC Commonwealth,
Madison Ireland garnered Second Team honors, and
Erin Phelan was the conference Rookie of the Year and Honorable Mention MAC Commonwealth. Those three are joined by fellow starter Mack McCracken and
Kyra Schenk in the projected starting lineup. Schenk has plenty of experience, appearing in all 53 possible games in her career, starting 23 as a freshman.
A Chance To Build (Part II)
Widener can work towards sustained success as a program as the Pride has a chance to have back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2012-14.
Up Next
The Pride is back in action on Saturday, November 23 with a tough non-conference contest, hosting Rowan at 1:00 p.m.
