Jane O'Donnell Pours in 25 Points, Hits Seven Triples

CHESTERTOWN, MD – Senior guard Jane O'Donnell (Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) knocked down seven three-pointers on her way to a game-high 25 points as host Washington College withstood a furious second-half rally by visiting Swarthmore to post a 71-67 win in Centennial Conference women's basketball action tonight inside Cain Athletic Center. The Shorewomen improved to 3-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play with the win, while the Garnet fell to 2-5 and 1-4 with the loss.

The Shorewomen closed the first half on a 10-0 run to take a 42-30 lead into the intermission.  Washington shot 8-for-16 from three-point range in the first half.

Washington's lead grew to as many as 18 points on a three-pointer by Jane O'Donnell with 16:16 left, giving the Shorewomen a 52-34 advantage. The Shorewomen held a 55-38 lead with 13 minutes to go before Swarthmore went on a 16-2 run to trim the lead to 57-54 on a three-pointer by Ceylan Bodur with 7:27 remaining. Washington clung to a 60-56 lead with under four minutes to go as the Garnet had a chance to cut the lead to two points, but a Madeline Ross missed lay-up at 3:45 and a pair of missed free throws by Kathryn Stockbower with 3:42 left gave the Shorewomen the ball back.

Jane O'Donnell then buried her seventh three of the evening to give the Shorewomen a 63-56 cushion with 3:16 to go. The Shorewomen led by at least four points the rest of the way as Jane O'Donnell and sophomore guard Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) went a combined 6-for-6 at the charity stripe in the final 19 seconds to ice the win. Swarthmore's Lisa Schumacher hit a running jumper at the buzzer to provide the final margin.

Jane O'Donnell's 25 points came on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, of which all but one miss came from long distance, and 4-of-4 shooting at the line. Freshman center Erin Kile (Benton, PA/Benton) added a career-best 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while sophomore guard/forward Sally O'Donnell (Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) netted 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) tallied seven boards and seven assists, while senior guard Jessica Jamrogowicz (Marlton, NJ/Bishop Eustace) dished out 10 assists off the bench.

Stockbower, who came into the game leading the conference in both scoring (23.8 points per game) and rebounding (14.2 rebounds per game), was limited to 12 points, on 5-of-17 shooting from the field, and eight rebounds in 40 minutes. Washington senior forward Julie Sherwood (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Warde) did an outstanding job in leading the defensive effort against Stockbower. Sherwood also brought down eight boards and blocked two shots.

Bodur led Swarthmore with 21 points and 10 boards. Ross and Schumacher each scored 13 points for the Garnet.

Washington finished the game 26-of-56 from the field, 12-of-26 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 from the line. Swarthmore shot 27-of-69, 6-of-20, and 7-for-14, respectively.

The Shorewomen return to action Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. non-conference game at Ramapo.