Green Terror rally from second-half deficit to down Gettysburg 72-67 in semis

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Ashley Lyles (Laurel, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) netted 16 points but added seven rebounds, four assists and three steals - most coming down the stretch - to lead McDaniel to a 72-67 victory over Gettysburg in the Centennial Conference (CC) women's basketball semifinals on Saturday.

The Green Terror (19-6) used an 11-0 run to overcome an 49-38 deficit with 15:44 to play, advancing to its first CC Championship game since winning the 2005 title. McDaniel will face Muhlenberg, which defeated Dickinson 62-50 in the day's first semifinal, on Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Green Terror is in search of its fourth conference crown and fifth NCAA bid, which would come automatically with the title.

Ali Moreland (Davidsonville, Md./South River) led McDaniel in the scoring column with 16 points while Katelyn Fischer (Reisterstown, Md./Seton Keough) added 12 points, coming on four 3-pointers that included one from the left corner capping the 11-0 burst and knotting the game at 52-all with 8:46 to play.

Courtney Fields led the Bullets (22-4) with 23 points and 10 rebounds while Caitlin Moser and Julie McGrory chipped in 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Facing its largest second-half deficit on a McGrory triple, Kim Acton (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) hit a layup off her own steal and Sam Witman (New Oxford, Pa./New Oxford) dish.

Treys from Fischer sandwiched around a Moreland triple evened the game for the first time since 2-all 41 seconds into the game.

Moser snapped a 6-minute, 40-second scoring drought for Gettysburg and two teams exchanged baskets over the next nearly three minutes before Sally Grace (Catonsville, Md./Mount de Sales Academy) canned a 3-pointer of her own - the 112th of her career - from the left corner with 5:52 to play for the Green Terror's first lead since 2-0 on the team's first possession.

Four straight points from Fields gave the Bullets a 64-61 lead but Moreland hit a driving layup and Lyles converted a pair of free throws to give McDaniel the lead for good with 2:09 to play.

A Moreland driving layup extended the lead to three before Fischer found Acton on a backdoor layup for a five-point advantage.

A 3-for-4 showing from Moreland in the final 14.8 seconds for the game sealed the victory for the Green Terror, marking the fourth time this season the squad had overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half.

Gettysburg built an early 9-2 lead before Lyles and Moreland closed the deficit to three with 16:43 to play.

Clinging to a 16-13 lead with 11:56 showing, McGrory hit a jumper to spark a 12-3 stretch that gave her team a 12-point advantage - its largest of the game with 6:14 on the clock.

Still up 12, Moreland beat the first-half buzzer with a 19-footer to cut the deficit to 39-29 at the break.

Cara Thompson (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) added eight points while Acton chipped in seven. Grace and Whitney Snoops (Millersville, Md./Archbishop Spaulding) tallied six points each.

Fischer added four assists and three steals while Moreland had three assists.

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