BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - The Sarah Lawrence women's basketball team celebrated senior day on Saturday, capping off the school's final basketball doubleheader of the season with a 77-50 victory over Purchase at the Campbell Sports Center. The Gryphons got 30-point performances from the team's two leading scorers, including a senior who fittingly set her career-high on senior day.
Top Performers
How it Happened
The Gryphons got out to an early lead thanks to a hot start from both Haymore and Anderson-Strawder, with the two combining for the team's first nine points as SLC claimed a 9-4 lead. The Panthers would find the bottom of the net towards the end of the quarter, but timely triples by both Coughlin and Anderson-Strawder stopped any momentum from going the way of the Panthers, with a connection by the latter giving the Gryphons a seven-point lead with 1:25 remaining. After a Christina Reilly block and an ensuing SLC turnover, the Panthers scored inside and with 14 seconds remaining the visitors scored on a fastbreak opportunity to close the gap to just three points at the end of the quarter. The second quarter was a similar story, with Anderson-Strawder and Haymore taking control of the game on the offensive end to build up SLC's lead to nine points before three-pointers by Coughlin on back-to-back possessions extended the lead to 15 with 3:40 to play in the half. Anderson-Strawder would score the team's final three baskets of the half, taking a 40-22 lead into the halftime intermission.
The third quarter was the same story as the first two, Anderson-Strawder and Haymore both dominated inside, helping build the SLC lead to 25 points within the first minute and change of the half. Haymore would go on a scoring streak of her own, scoring seven straight points for SLC before an Anderson-Strawder jumper and another triple from Coughlin extended the lead to 30 points with 1:51 remaining. A Purchase score would bring the lead down to 28, but with one quarter left to play the Gryphons held a strong lead. The fourth quarter saw Anderson-Strawder continue to find the bottom of the net, connecting from deep a few minutes into the period to re-extend the lead to 30. After a short run by Purchase led by Kaylena Phagnasay, Haymore would score SLC's final seven points of the game, including a triple from the right corner that gave the senior a total of 30 points on her final game as a Gryphon and gave the team a 27-point victory.
Season Wrap-Up
The Gryphons (8-17, 8-12) finished the season ranked seventh out of 11 teams in the conference and tied a program best in total wins while setting a new best mark in conference victories, with eight (the previous program record for conference wins in a season was six). The team will lose two seniors, the aforementioned Haymore and Samantha Lungren, as they look forward to 2024-25.
