Bethany (1-3) will clash with Olivet College (1-2) Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. in day two of the tournament. The pairings were predetermined prior to the weekend, although it would serve as the consolation game since the Comets were defeated by Wilmington 99-83 in Saturday’s opening game.
BC led 12-10 early before an 11-2 spurt gave them their biggest lead of the half at 23-12 with 6:19 to go before halftime. Seven points from Bison sophomore forward Mandi Swiger sparked the surge. Albion answered with a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to tie the game, but Bethany would carry a 28-25 advantage into the halftime locker room following two free throws from freshman guard Brooke Orange and one from senior forward Courtney Irwin.
Neither team shot particularly well in the opening period, as BC was just 9-of-29 from the floor (31 percent) and Albion connected on 9-of-24 attempts (37.5). A big factor in the first half was Bethany’s 10 points off 15 Briton turnovers, while Albion did not score off of 11 Bison miscues. However, that statistic would see a drastic change in favor of the Britons over the final 20 minutes.
Bethany maintained their three-point advantage through the early stages of the second half, but a 10-0 Albion run put the Britons on top 42-35 at the 13:14 mark. Albion continued to pull away from the Bison until a lay-up from Megan Garvey gave them their biggest lead of the night at 65-44 with just under seven minutes to play.
The Bison did make a valiant effort to climb back into the contest. Swiger, who had a huge night scoring and on the boards, put up 10 markers in a 14-4 run which brought BC back within eight at 73-65 with 1:22 to go. However, it wouldn’t be enough, as the Britons made 12 of 15 foul shots from that point to secure the win and send the Bison to their second consecutive defeat.
Albion forced 19 second half turnovers from the Bison and converted them into 24 points, as they outscored Bethany 60-43 following intermission.
Despite the loss, Swiger had a monster game for the Green and White. She registered her third career double-double and second this season with 24 points and 13 rebounds, both career highs. Nine of her boards were offensive and she was 8-of-11 from both the floor and the charity stripe.
Three other Bison hit for double figures, including junior guard Lisa Mitchell with 14, Orange with 13 off the bench and sophomore guard Caelyn DiSanti with 11 points, as well as a team-high three assists and three steals.
Albion was paced by Garvey’s 17 points and eight rebounds, while Jessica Babcock pitched in 13 and Autumn Charnley finished with an even dozen.
Newspaper Box Score Albion College vs Bethany College 11/25/06 8:00pm at Wilmington College At Wilmington College ALBION COLLEGE 85, BETHANY COLLEGE 71 ALBION COLLEGE (3-1) Megan Garvey 7-15 3-5 17; Jessica Babcock 3-6 7-8 13; Autumn Charnley 3-9 6-11 12; Stephani Croad 5-8 0-1 10; Kati Till 2-6 4-4 8; Katie Elder 3-6 0-0 6; Brittany Kemperman 2-5 0-0 5; Stephanie Klumpp 1-1 2-2 4; Emi Guimond 2-4 0-1 4; Amy Aemisegger 1-1 0-0 3; Chelsea Gray 0-0 3-7 3; Dori Williams 0-0 0-0 0; Kaitlyn Thomas 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 29-61 25-40 85. BETHANY COLLEGE (1-3) Mandi Swiger 8-11 8-11 24; Lisa Mitchell 5-18 2-4 14; Brooke Orange 2-4 8-9 13; Caelyn DiSanti 3-6 4-4 11; Renee Brandenburg 1-5 0-0 2; Nicole Thompson 0-4 2-2 2; Jennifer Scarborough 1-3 0-0 2; Michele Hunzinger 1-1 0-0 2; Courtney Irwin 0-5 1-2 1; Abbey Scarsella 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 25-32 71. Albion College................ 25 60 - 85 Bethany College............... 28 43 - 71 3-point goals-Albion College 2-13 (Amy Aemisegger 1-1; Brittany Kemperman 1-3; Autumn Charnley 0-1; Stephani Croad 0-1; Kati Till 0-1; Jessica Babcock 0-2; Megan Garvey 0-4), Bethany College 4-15 (Lisa Mitchell 2-8; Brooke Orange 1-3; Caelyn DiSanti 1-2; Jennifer Scarborough 0-1; Nicole Thompson 0-1). Fouled out--Albion College-Katie Elder; Kati Till, Bethany College-None. Rebounds-Albion College 45 (Megan Garvey 8), Bethany College 36 (Mandi Swiger 13). Assists-Albion College 13 (Autumn Charnley 5), Bethany College 9 (Caelyn DiSanti 3; Nicole Thompson 3). Total fouls-Albion College 32, Bethany College 30. A-198 2006 Wilmington Inn / Damon's Fred Raizk Tournament