| true 2 Gwynedd 54, Bridgewater State 43


BOX SCORE


GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. -- The Griffins kicked off 2015 hosting the Gwynedd Mercy University Holiday Tournament sponsored by Courtyard/Residence Inn Marriott featuring Trinity College, Ramapo College and Bridgewater State University on Saturday at the Griffin Complex.

Starting off tournament play in dramatic fashion was Trinity and Ramapo in the day's first game.  Trinity had a two point advantage with 50 seconds remaining in regulation.  A missed layup by Ramapo with just 35 seconds on the clock would prove to be fatal for the Roadrunners.  In the last 30 seconds of play Trinity would pull away 58-54, capitalizing on the Roadrunners foul trouble.  With the victory, Trinity advances to the championship against the hosting Griffins at 2 p.m. tomorrow.  Ramapo will play Bridgewater State in a consolation game at 12 p.m.

Despite an early 11-0 run, the Griffins were only up 21-18 at the break.  Scoreless for nearly 10 minutes of play, the Bears battled back to chip away at the Griffin lead.  Senior Megan Boutilette broke the Bridgewater drought as she put the Bears on the board at 10:54 and went on to score their first 6 points.  The Bears did not give up despite going 0-9 early on in the half and battled back to be nearly even with the Griffins from the floor going 8-28 (28.6%), GM going 8-30 (26.7%).  Although the Bears seemed to collect themselves offensively, GM would never relinquish the lead only letting the Bears within three points on three separate occasions.

Junior Olivia Bradford (Lansdale, Pa. / Christopher Deck) led the way for the Griffins in the half with 7 points and 5 rebounds, senior Kelsey Yori (Folsom, Pa. / Ridley) chipped in 4.  In spite of the small lead, the Griffins lost the battle on the boards, 24-22, in the half.

A high intensity second half left both teams battling to find their groove.  The Bears pulled within 1 at 14:50 when Melissa Daigle sent the ball over top for an open layup by Chanelle Melton.  Following the Bridgewater timeout, freshmen Juliana Hoisington (Collegeville, Pa. / Perkiomen Valley) would drain a three at the top of the key to put the Griffins up 32-28 with 12 minutes remaining.

As tension continued to build, both teams would go shot for shot over a three minute span.  But he Griffins would never relinquish the lead.  With 4:18 remaining, junior Chandler DiFebbo (Pheonixville, Pa. / Archbishop Wood) would put the Griffins back up by six after she finished a fast-break layup after making her fourth steal of the game.  The Griffins slowly built the lead and a three by sophomore Charlotte Kucowski (Philadelphia, Pa. / St. Huberts) at 2:25 would push the Griffins back to their largest lead of 11.  In the last two minutes of regulation the Griffins never looked back and went on to win 54-43.

The Griffins finished with a solid team effort across the board.  Bradford led the way in the scoring column with 13 points, Kucowski added 7, DiFebbo and senior Natasha Matthews (Norristown, Pa. / Norristown) added six a piece, with Hoisington, freshmen Dee Terry (Pottstown, Pa. / Bowyertown) and sophomore Nicole Dombrowski (Philadelphia, Pa. / Nazareth Acad.) chipping in 5.

Kucowski and Dombrowski led the way on the glass with seven each, with DiFebbo and Bradford not far behind with 6.  Overall the Bears led the way on the boards with 48 compared to the Griffins 39.

Two players from Bridgewater would reach double digits, with Megan Boutilette leading the way with a double-double (10 points, 17 rebounds).  Chanelle Melton had a game high of 17 points and Melissa Daigle added 7 points and 10 rebounds.

The championship game against Trinity and GM will be played Sunday at 2 p.m.