Fischer, Lyles pace McDaniel in 51-48 win at No. 24 Gettysburg

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Ashley Lyles (Laurel, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) canned a pair of free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining to finish with 12 points and lead McDaniel to a 51-48 victory at 24th-ranked Gettysburg in Centennial Conference (CC) women's basketball action on Wednesday.

Katelyn Fischer (Reisterstown, Md./Seton Keough) paced the Green Terror (11-4, 10-2 CC) with 13 points, leading the squad to its 11th consecutive victory and second over a ranked opponent in the last nine days.

Courtney Fields led all scorers with 20 points for Bullets (13-2, 8-2 CC), including the 1,000th of her career.

Trailing 48-47, Fischer found Thompson wide open along the baseline for a one-point advantage with 1:06 on the clock.

Inbounding out a Gettysburg timeout with 32.4 seconds on the clock, the Bullets twice fouled quickly to get to the bonus. After a McDaniel timeout with 29.4 seconds on the clock, the Green Terror successfully played keepaway for eight seconds before Moreland went to the line for a 1-and-1 with 21.3 seconds showing.

After the senior missed the front end, the McDaniel defense forced a missed shot and Lyles corralled the rebounds.

At the line with 4.8 on the clock, the senior hit the first and Gettysburg called a timeout.

Out of the break, the reigning CC Player of the Week calmly sank the second attempt to push the lead to three and set the final margin on her birthday.

After Ali Moreland (Davidsonville, Md./South River) gave her team an 11-7 lead with 15:00 remaining, McDaniel missed its next 11 shots and committed seven turnovers before Kim Acton (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) hit a layup to snap a 9-minute, 53-second scoring drought.

During the stretch, Gettysburg put together a 12-0 run to take a 19-11 advantage.

Back-to-back buckets from Cara Thompson (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) keyed a final 6-0 burst to close the first half, drawing the visitors within 21-19 at the break.

A Lyles short jumper in the lane on the Green Terror's first possession of the second half evened the game at 21-all.

After Fischer hit a triple from the right wing to momentarily give McDaniel a 28-27 lead, Sara Kinsley responded with a layup and Fields hit a 3-pointer to give Gettysburg the advantage once again, 32-28.

Sally Grace (Catonsville, Md./Mount de Sales Academy) sliced the deficit to one with a trey but a Fields layup with 12:07 to play gave her 1,000 for her career and pushed the lead back to three.

Three straight Moreland free throws evened the game with 11:11 on the clock before Fischer canned one of her three 3-pointer in the left corner for a 37-34 lead 49 seconds later.

A Moreland fastbreak layup capped an 8-0 burst with 10:02 showing.

The Green Terror kept the Bullets at arm's length, including a third-chance Thompson layup with 3:42 to play that capped a long possession and made it a 47-44 game.

A Kinsley layup and two Fields free throws gave Gettysburg a short-lived lead with 2:22 to play.

Moreland finished with seven points and a team-best five assists. Lyles led the way on the boards with six rebounds while Moreland grabbed five.

The Green Terror returns to action at home against Washington (Md.) on Saturday. Game time is 1 p.m.

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