GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team made a strong bid at its first Centennial Conference playoff berth in four years, overturning a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit to grab a lead with six minutes to play in Monday night's clash at Gettysburg. But the host Bullets rebounded to score the next nine points and went ahead for good, ending the Bears' season with a 60-54 decision.
Ursinus (11-14, 9-9) needed a victory to clinch its first postseason appearance since the 2011-12 campaign. Instead, the late rally by Gettysburg (19-5, 13-5) handed the fifth and final bid to Haverford.
Senior forward Jessica Porada posted 14 points and five rebounds and senior guard Alyssa Polimeni paired nine points with a game-high ten assists in their final collegiate game.
Sophomore guard Rachel Guy (nine points) and junior guard Olivia Kane (eight) combined to hit five of the Bears' six 3-pointers, matching their second-highest total of the season.
The Bears were seeking a momentous result in a road trip that held plenty of significance for first-year head coach Margaret White, who made her first appearance as a coach in the gym where she spent four years as a player for the Bullets. Thanks to a 5-of-6 effort from downtown, Ursinus scored the game's first six points and took a 29-25 lead into intermission after a triple by Guy in the final minute of the first half.
The visitors hit a wall after halftime, going 0-for-12 from the floor and getting outscored, 13-2, in the third quarter as Gettysburg took a 38-31 advantage into the final ten minutes. After the teams traded buckets to begin the fourth period, Ursinus made its last stand.
Trailing 40-33 early in the fourth, the Bears used their fast break to cut into the deficit. Polimeni grabbed a defensive rebound and raced up-court before dishing off to senior forward Caroline Shimrock for a lay-up, and a turnover on the ensuing Bullets possession led to a run-out for Porada. Polimeni's twisting drive through the lane resulted in a game-tying three-point play, knotting the affair at 40 with just under seven minutes to play, and another strong take by the senior delivered Ursinus the lead on the next trip down with 6:08 remaining on the game clock.
Emily Duggan leveled the contest again with two free throws, and Emma Dorshimer's step-back jumper gave Gettysburg the lead back for good at the 5:03 mark. Porter drilled a right-wing 3-pointer, and Graham bulled her way to the bucket to cap a 9-0 run and hand the Bullets a 49-42 lead with just over three minutes remaining.
Senior forward Elana Roadcloud's free throw stopped the bleeding, and junior guard Libby Lannon scored on an up-and-under move to slice the margin to 49-45. Duggan's foul-line jump shot pushed the hosts' advantage back to six before Polimeni responded with a tough leaner from the left baseline at 1:25.
After a free throw by Dorshimer, Polimeni set up Porada for an easy lay-in, but Relin answered with two free throws to make it 54-49 with 54 ticks showing. Ursinus turned it over on the other end, and Kim Ryan connected on a pair from the stripe to swell the lead back to seven.
Kane knocked down a clutch 3-pointer from the right wing to bring the Bears within 56-52 with 27 seconds left, but Dorshimer calmly sank two foul shots and Shimrock's last-ditch long-range effort was off the mark.
Roadcloud snared ten more rebounds and added five points and three steals, while Shimrock posted five points in their last appearance as Bears. Ursinus shot 33.9 percent against a Bullets team that came in ranked 10th in Division III in field-goal percentage defense.
Dorshimer finished with 18 points for Gettysburg, which shot 44.7 percent (21 of 47) and went 14 of 16 (87.5 percent) at the line, including 11 for 12 in the fourth quarter. The Bullets are the third seed and will meet second-seeded McDaniel in the CC semifinals on Saturday.
Gettysburg is 16-1 all-time at home against Ursinus, which has not prevailed inside Bream Gym since 2004.
Porada finished her decorated career fourth on the school's all-time list in points (1,371) and rebounds (801); with five boards on Monday, she became the second player in program history to record at least 1,300 points and 800 rebounds. Polimeni, meanwhile, closed her Bear account with 356 assists – good for second all-time – to complement 1,034 points and 159 steals, which are tied for fifth. Her 121 free throws made this season rank second in school history for a single season.
Roadcloud's ten caroms gave her 17 double-digit glass games this season and polished off her CC rebounding title; she is the first Bear to lead the league on the boards since Molly Guntli in 2006.