Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson)
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COLLEGEVILLE >> Players who commit to play for Gettysburg College’s women’s basketball program know what they’re signing up for.
The Bullets have won the Centennial Conference each of the last three years, they’ve become a regular in the NCAA Division III Tournament and have often carried a national ranking next to their name. It’s a high standard, one that amplifies within their own gym and a standard they often have to protect, as the Bullets did in Saturday’s league battle at Ursinus.
The Golden Bears gave Gettysburg College all it could handle for 40 minutes, but the Bullets emerged with a 60-53 win to keep their conference record unblemished.
“There’s always an advantage to expectations,” Bullets coach Nate Davis said. “When you know you’ve come through in the past, moments don’t necessarily scare our players and they come here to play in big games. We attract players who want the moment, so it’s all credit to the players who have come before because they’re the ones who established this.”
AB Holsinger and Shaniya Lee are part of a veteran Gettysburg College team that has won three straight Centennial Conference titles
Gettysburg College, currently ranked No. 11 in the WBCA Coaches’ Poll, improved to 15-1 overall and 5-0 in the Centennial Conference with the win. It’s been an impressive season so far by any measure, but also a credit to the players on the roster for adapting early on.
The Bullets lost senior Mackenzie Szlosek, a former Centennial Conference Player of the Year, to a season-ending injury just three games into the season. Gettysburg College still had a strong lineup anchored by the reigning CC Player of the Year in junior Alayna Arnolie, but losing a major contributor meant its depth would be relied on even more.
“It’s fun to be surrounded by so many people that could take your spot,” junior guard AB Holsinger said. “You’re having to battle for it every day. We have two teams that can go at it in practice, it’s not ‘starters vs non-starters,’ it’s nice being able to compete with each other and know if we can beat each other in practice, that will prepare us for any team we face because it makes us better overall.”
Arnolie led the Bullets with 15 points, scoring two crucial baskets in the fourth quarter but it did take a collective effort. Davis used 11 different players, nine of them scoring at least a point and all putting something into the win.
Ava O’Neil had all five of her points in the fourth quarter as a response after Ursinus had cut a once double-digit lead to one. Tatum Murray came in early and helped stabilize Gettysburg College after a fast start by the hosts and three different players took charges to draw offensive fouls in the third quarter.
“We know we have a deep team and have people who can come in and contribute,” Davis said. “It’s the players' commitment. They’ve done a great job of coming in and being ready, coming in to work every day regardless of playing time and honestly, there were players who didn’t play today who I think still could have contributed. We’re really thankful for that and really blessed.”
Senior Shaniya Lee, who had 11 points and nine rebounds while also drawing the primary defensive assignment on Ursinus’ star forward Chinwe Irondi, explained that every player prepares themselves for any scenario.
“We keep the mentality that everyone has to contribute,” Lee said. “We know we have a deep bench. We know anyone off our bench can come on the floor and contribute.
“We try to make practice game-like so when it is time, we get after it and we’re not surprised by anything.”
Ursinus cut the lead to one twice in the fourth quarter, Gettysburg College responding each time, to fend off a 13 point and 13 rebound double-double from Irondi, 13 points from Madison Smith and 11 points from Ava Possenti.
Holsinger, a fiery defender at point guard, said the standard is something that’s passed down amongst the players. At the same time, the junior noted everyone who comes into the program has a “go get it” kind of mindset and they signed up for it.
“We don’t have a seniority hierarchy kind of leadership on our team, we have people who can lead at every level,” Holsinger said.
Davis and his players have embraced a mantra of one game at a time. Just because the Bullets have won three conference titles in a row doesn’t mean they’re going to get a fourth, especially with the Centennial Conference as tough as ever.
That’s not all the motivation the players are carrying. This current group has been to three NCAA Tournaments but hasn’t captured a first round win yet, something they don’t hide but would very much like to change.
“We keep dropping that first game, so it’s our goal to make it past that and prove we truly are a Top-25 team,” Holsinger said. “We want to continue to prove to ourselves but also everybody else that we belong in the tournament.”
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