The Britons looked dead in the water in the first half Saturday, trailing Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association foe Alma College by as many as 18 points, but Garvey's play ignited her teammates and Albion rallied for a 68-55 victory at Kresge Gymnasium.
Albion trailed 24-6 midway through the first half and missed 17 of its first 20 shots. Behind three steals and 11 points from Garvey, the Britons went on a 21-5 run to cut their deficit to 29-27 with four minutes left in the half on a jumper by Garvey.
Alma finished the half on a 10-3 run to take a 39-30 halftime lead.
The Britons chipped away at the more manageable margin in the second half, finally tying the game for the first time since 0-0 at 48-48 on a jumper and fastbreak layup from Garvey with just less than 10 minutes to play.
The Britons scored eight straight more points after that to extend their lead to 56-48 on a fastbreak layup by Stephani Croad. After Alma scored six straight points to cut Albion's lead to two, the Britons scored 10 consecutive points to put the game away.
Garvey finished with a career-high 23 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Sophomore Croad scored 10 points, the fourth time in six games she's reached double figures. Junior forward Katie Elder added eight points and seven rebounds.
Albion's defense was the key to its comeback. The Britons forced 24 turnovers and had a season-high 16 steals. In addition to Garvey's five steals, Croad had four and sophomore guard Autumn Charnley had two.
Ashley Matuzak led Alma with 21 points, but she had just four after halftime. Heather Keenan added 12 points.
Albion improved to 11-8 and 6-5 in the MIAA. Alma fell to 7-10, 3-7.
The Britons will continue league play when they host Calvin Wednesday night at 6 p.m. to kick off a doubleheader. The men's game against Tri-State will follow the women's contest.
ALMA COLLEGE (7-10; 3-7 MIAA) Ashley Matuzak 7-16 3-5 21; Heather Keenan 5-12 0-2 12; Megan Hoblet 4-7 1-2 9; Courtney Lusk 2-9 1-2 7; Ashley Wojtas 0-1 4-4 4; Emily Niemi 0-6 2-3 2; Kathryn Bigelow 0-1 0-0 0; Houston Verbeck 0-1 0-0 0; Lauren Hasler 0-0 0-0 0; Terra Teague 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-53 11-18 55. ALBION COLLEGE (11-8; 6-5 MIAA) Megan Garvey 7-14 7-8 23; Stephani Croad 3-6 4-4 10; Katie Elder 1-3 6-8 8; Jessica Babcock 2-3 1-2 6; Autumn Charnley 2-11 2-2 6; Emi Guimond 2-4 0-0 4; Brittany Kemperman 1-6 0-0 3; Stephanie Klumpp 0-2 3-4 3; Amy Aemisegger 1-5 0-0 2; Kati Till 1-6 0-0 2; Chelsea Gray 0-3 1-2 1; Meghan VanMaele 0-1 0-0 0; Dori Williams 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-65 24-30 68. Alma College.................. 39 16 - 55 Albion College................ 30 38 - 68 3-point goals-Alma College 8-18 (Ashley Matuzak 4-9; Heather Keenan 2-3; Courtney Lusk 2-6), Albion College 4-16 (Megan Garvey 2-5; Brittany Kemperman 1-5; Jessica Babcock 1-1; Autumn Charnley 0-1; Amy Aemisegger 0-3; Stephani Croad 0-1). Fouled out--Alma College-Ashley Matuzak; Ashley Wojtas, Albion College-None. Rebounds-Alma College 43 (Emily Niemi 9), Albion College 44 (Stephani Croad 9). Assists-Alma College 14 (Emily Niemi 4), Albion College 14 (Jessica Babcock 4). Total fouls-Alma College 22, Albion College 18. A-219