PHILADELPHIA – Junior Emma Dorshimer (Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) posted 20 points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots and the Gettysburg College women's basketball team held on for a thrilling 64-59 overtime victory over Ursinus College in Centennial Conference (CC) action Sunday afternoon at the Palestra.
 
Sophomore Ashley Gehrin (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) buried a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in regulation to force OT for the Bullets (12-2, 8-1 CC), who went on to outscore the Bears 13-8 in the extra session. Gettysburg sealed its victory at the foul line, making 10 of its final 12 free throws.
 
Senior Emily Gibbons (Annapolis, Md./Severn School) collected her third-straight double-double for the Bullets, finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while freshman Meredith Brown (Landisburg, Pa./West Perry) netted a season-high 10 points to go with eight rebounds.
 
It was the third 20-point game of the year for Dorshimer, who was playing just 16 miles from her hometown of Jenkintown, Pa.
 
Lydia Konstanzer paced Ursinus (8-7, 5-5 CC) with a game-high 25 points while Aliyah Stephens contributed 19 points.
 
Gettysburg earned its first OT win since a 60-55 victory at Franklin & Marshall on Dec. 6, 2012.
 
The two sides were playing the first game in the inaugural "Centennial at the Palestra" event, which includes four additional CC contests. The Palestra is one of the most storied basketball facilities in the United States and home court for the University of Pennsylvania.
 
Stephens made an off-balance shot in the lane with 34 seconds left before Gehrin drilled her big shot from the left elbow. The Bears had a chance to win in regulation when Stephens was fouled en route to the basket, but she missed a pair of free throws with six seconds left. Dorshimer missed a 3-pointer at the other end, sending the Bullets to their first overtime game since an 84-83 loss at Johns Hopkins on Feb. 1 of last season.
 
Stephens scored off the opening tip in OT and the Bears led 55-52 after a conventional 3-point play from Konstanzer with 3:37 showing. However, that's when Gettysburg dug in defensively, holding Ursinus to just one field goal the rest of the way. In the meantime, the Bullets answered with a 6-1 spurt, starting with a jumper from Brown with 3:23 left.
 
Gettysburg then took care of business at the foul line, starting with four straight free throws from Gibbons that put the Bullets ahead (58-56) for good. Rachel Guy hit a foul shot to pull Ursinus within one, but Gehrin went on to go 3-of-4 at the stripe to put the Bullets up 61-57 with 32 seconds to go. After a Stephens jumper with 15 ticks showing, Dorshimer hit four straight free throws to set the final score.
 
It was a back-and-forth affair in the opening half, when there were five ties and four lead changes. Freshman Kendra Meredith (Boyds, Md./Northwest) put the Bullets on the scoreboard with a lay-up on the game's opening possession, but neither team would score again for nearly four minutes. Ursinus took a 5-2 lead before Gettysburg used a 10-2 run, capped by a Kiera Cesareo (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) 3-pointer, to open up some breathing room, going up 12-7 with 1:03 on the first-quarter clock.
 
Brown converted a lay-in to make it 14-9 with 18 seconds left, but the Bears answered with a Konstanzer jumper to pull within three at the end of the first quarter. It was the start of a 10-3 spurt for Ursinus, which took a 19-17 lead with 5:46 showing in the opening half.
 
The Bullets were held to just two field goals in the second quarter, but kept pace by going 6-for-6 at the foul line. Dorshimer scored seven points in the period, going 4-for-4 at the charity stripe, and Gibbons dropped in a lay-up with 26 seconds left to give her team a 25-22 lead at the half.
 
Dorshimer led the Bullets with 12 points at the half while Konstanzer scored 11 of her points for Ursinus.
 
Gettysburg led by at least three for the entire third quarter, and Dorshimer scored five straight points to hand the Bullets their largest lead (39-31) of the game with 2:15 left in the period. A pair of Brown foul shots with 1:29 on the clock gave the Bullets a 41-33 lead, but that's when the Bears embarked on a 7-0 run, starting with a 3-pointer from Marisa Morano that made it a 41-36 game at the end of the period.
 
Konstanzer scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to bring the Bears within one, setting up an extremely tight finish. Neither side would lead by more than three over the remainder of the period, and fastbreak lay-up from Stephens at the 4:49 mark handed Ursinus its first lead (47-45) since the first half. Gehrin went 3-for-4 on a pair of trips to the foul line to put Gettysburg up 48-47 with 3:34 left before Ursinus scored the next four points, capped by Stephens' late bucket. But that's when Gehrin connected for her game-tying triple off a pass from Dorshimer.
 
Gettysburg shot 81.3 percent (26-for-32) at the foul line for the game and out-rebounded the Bears 47-37.
 
Gettysburg continues its season on Wednesday, when it visits McDaniel at 6 p.m. in another Centennial Conference match-up.