WESTMINSTER, Md. – Swarthmore jumped out to a 12-4 lead and never trailed in a 56-42 Centennial Conference (CC) women's basketball victory over McDaniel on Thursday.

Rachael Rybak (Reisterstown, Md./Franklin) led the Green Terror (5-7, 2-6 CC) with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and a steal. Steph Perez (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) also reached double figures with 11 to go with a team-high four rebounds.

Katie Lytle paced the Garnet (10-2, 6-1 CC) with 19 points and 17 rebounds – part of a 42-28 advantage on the glass.

A layup and 3-pointer from Madeline Ross staked Swarthmore to a 5-0 lead before 1:28 had elapsed.

Jumpers from Perez and Rybak around a Lytle jumper made it a 7-4 game before Kayla Moritzky hit a jumper and Eliza Polli canned a 3-pointer for a 12-4 advantage with 16:08 on the clock.

After Shelby Taylor (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) hit a layup to trim the margin to six, Lytle hit two free throws to spark a 7-0 stretch, putting the Garnet up 19-6 with 11:02 to play.

The lead ballooned to as many as 16 en route to a 34-19 advantage at the break.

Trailing 38-23, five points from Rybak and a Brittany Davis (Laurel, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) layup closed the deficit to eight with 13:06 to play but that would be as close as McDaniel would get.

Lytle responded with a jumper to spark an 11-0 run over the next 4 minutes, 42 seconds for a 49-30 lead.

Elle Larsen made it a 56-36 game with 2:36 to go before Perez hit a 3-pointer and Stephanie Fish (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) canned a triple with the shot clock expiring – one of many such shots hit by the Green Terror in the game – to set the final margin.

Davis finished with eight points, three assists and two steals. Taylor grabbed five steals while Allie Eader (Ijamsville, Md./Linganore) handed out four assists.

McDaniel returns to action at home against Ursinus on Saturday. Game time is 1 p.m.

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