Women’s basketball dominates home opener

By Dillon Flanigan

Sports Editor 

The women’s basketball season tipped off on Saturday, Nov. 9 at James Moore Field House, defeating Georgian Court University Lions 105-33. 

For the second year in a row, the university hosted the Mercy University, Saint Anselm College and Georgian Court in a Saturday-Sunday tournament. 

The Owls started strong with a 16-2 lead at the end of one period. Nine different players saw the court at one point or another during the period, keeping the players fresh while attacking the Lions. 

An onslaught began as the Owls outscored the Lions 43-10 in the second period alone. Fans in the crowd had been in disbelief as the lead kept growing. 

“We have a lot of new players, so it’s just making sure everyone feels comfortable,” forward Katie Williamson, a graduate, said. “We’ve been working so hard these past two months preseason-wise, so it’s nice to finally execute and carry that over to a game and kind of start off as we need to go on.” 

In 24 minutes, Williamson finished with one block, two steals, two assists, eight rebounds and 25 points. Though, she was not the only thorn in the Lions’ side defensively. The Owls had seven blocks and 21 steals overall. 

“That was one of the things that we’re really happy with. We’ve been working on putting pressure on other teams since the beginning of the season,” Head Coach Kate Lynch said. “It’s kind of cool to see that sort of come together. We just got to focus on staying out of foul trouble as well. When you’re aggressive, you got to make sure to keep your hands off.” 

The Owls had 21 personal fouls, as the Lions had 28, sending the university to the free throw line, completing 27 of 36 shots. 

Though, it did not matter Saturday, some games will come down to free throws. Williamson was the most successful, going 7-7 at the line. 

“It’s so important that when you step to that line, you have to knock them down. It’s free. Why not take them,” Williamson said. “We have some of the best shooters in the league on this team. All the hard work you put on to knock down the free throws, it’s definitely just another hit on the other team.” 

Williamson also praised the three-point shooting by the team. They were 10-23 from beyond the arch, with three from guard Jillian Martin, a graduate, while guard Delaney Haines, a senior, had four. 

“Five of us were in double digits, so we were sharing the ball, and we were hitting shots. When you’re at home, the most important thing to do is hit shots,” Haines said. “This is our court. We shoot on these hoops every day. I think we all were prepared, and we came out really hard, and we moved the ball.” 

During the second half, the Owls’ lead kept increasing no matter who was on the court, as all 13 players saw minutes. 

“We got ourselves a lead, which is great. We got to rest a lot of our players and actually get a lot of other players minutes too,” Lynch said. “It was a great team effort all around. Everybody that went in made an impact in the game.” 

As the starters were being pulled, one player that came off the bench making her collegiate debut was guard Gianna Donnarummo, a freshman. With her foot on the three-point line, the true freshman drained her first collegiate basket as the Owls bench erupted. 

“It’s amazing. We love G; we say it every day. She’s an amazing shooter,” Haines said. “We knew she was going in, and we were hyped for sure.” 

After the game ended, roughly 24 hours later, they tipped off against Mercy who were a division II playoff team. 

“It’s great to have a win today, but we have to take what we learned from this game and carry it out tomorrow,” Williamson said. “We have to make sure that tomorrow that we’re starting from scratch, 0-0 score. We need to keep pushing, keep doing what we do best and keep executing.” 

Though the university played Georgian Court and Mercy this weekend, they did not play Saint Anselm given that they are both NE10 teams and will be playing them in a home and home split later in the season.