March 1, 2008

Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. - Caitlin Moser scored a career-high 28 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead No. 4 Gettysburg over top-seeded Franklin & Marshall 75-70 in Centennial Conference (CC) women's basketball semifinals on Saturday.

Moser collected 18 of her 28 points in the second half, scoring 12 of the Bullets' (18-9) 16 points to start the final stanza and helping them advance to the championship game for the first time in CC history. Gettysburg will battle Muhlenberg for their first conference crown tomorrow at 2 p.m. The Mules were a 54-47 winner over Dickinson in the first semifinal of the day.

Sarah Meisenberg led four players in double figures for the Diplomats (19-7) with a 27-point performance, going 10-for-14 from the free-throw line. Cara Landolfi tallied 15 points and seven boards, while Brittany Braxton and Beth Holt added 11 each.

Gettysburg had its best outing of the season from the charity stripe, shooting 87.5 percent and going 5-for-6 in the final 42 seconds to preserve its second conference playoff win.

In addition to her spurt to start the second half, Moser scored six points over a two-minute span to give the Bullets a double-digit lead at 67-57 with 4:41 left to play.

F&M responded with 8-0 run, starting with a layup from Landolfi and two free throws by Meisenberg, before getting a jumper and another Landolfi basket to get within two points with 2:13 on the clock.

Hartman, who scored seven of her 14 points in just a minute, 20 seconds, knocked down a three-pointer to make it 75-70.

The Diplomats took almost a minute off the clock, getting four offensive rebounds on four chances to score and Meisenberg eventually drew the foul, hitting 1 of 2. Hold sandwiched a jumper in between Hartman's four free throws for a 74-68 lead.

Courtney Fields hit the back end of two shots from the free-throw line and Sara Wolman got the final jumper for the Diplomats at the buzzer.

In the first half, F&M took an 11-8 edge after Miriam Marcis drained a jumper followed by two from Meisenberg at the 13:20 mark. Landolfi tallied three points at 14-10, before the Bullets scored 11 unanswered points to take their largest lead at 21-14.

Braxton registered eight straight points and Meisenberg converted the three-point play to regain the lead at 25-22 with 4:14 until the break. Moser and Nicole Dobranski combined for eight points, while Fields hit a three-pointer for a 33-30 visitor lead at halftime.

Dobranski tallied a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Bullets.