By Melissa Barracato Staff writer
The Susquehanna women’s basketball team defeated Goucher 74-52 at home on Feb. 4, led by junior forward Courtney Adams’ career high 29 points. The River Hawks, now 5-5 in Landmark Conference play, improved to 14-9 overall on the season.
Goucher took an early 9-8 lead before senior forward Nicole Gault hit a layup off a pass from senior guard Nikki Komara to give Susquehanna the edge. Then after a 16-2 run, the River Hawks ended the first quarter leading the Gophers 24-11, with 12 points coming from Adams, seven from junior guard Tess Nichols, three from sophomore guard Bailey Trell and two from Gault. Susquehanna went on to outscore Goucher in the second and third quarters as well, 17-14 and 23-13, respectively.
Goucher tried to rally in the second quarter as they cut the lead to 29-19, but Adams was relentless in the paint and added in five more points to keep the lead going for the River Hawks.
“We recognized that we were getting some pretty good low post seals right in the paint, and I thought we could exploit that since we had a height and a position advantage where they really weren’t trying to deny that pass,” Head Coach Jim Reed said. “We made it a point in this game to throw it to Courtney in that position because she’s a good low post scorer.”
Adams went on to score 10 of the 23 points for Susquehanna in the third quarter, along with contributions from Nichols, Gault and senior guard Danielle Palazzi.
“Courtney’s been a really good player for us every year for the past three years. We count on her to bring a scoring punch coming off the bench as well as rebounding and defending low post,” Reed said. “She’s just a very good player and continues to improve all the time.”
Along with Adams’ 29 points, Nichols finished the game with 14, Gault added seven, Trell had three and Komara chipped in two. Off the bench, Palazzi, sophomore forward Maddi Rakow and sophomore guard Maddie Murray each contributed four points. Freshman guard Rachel Sweger hit a three and freshmen guards Maggie Wilson and Alyssa Davey-Bostic added two points each.
Both Gault and Komara were key players in assisting their teammates, with seven and five assists, respectively.
Part of Susquehanna’s success against Goucher was thanks to the tough defense they played the entire game.
“Tess came into the last two games as a starter, playing against some very good offensive players on other teams. She’s a high-energy player and brings a huge effort,” Reed said. “She’s contributed throughout the entire season and will continue to do so.”
Komara was also a big part of the River Hawks success against Goucher and has been throughout the entire season.
“Nikki has been an all-conference player for two years, and she just fills all the stat columns. When she’s not scoring she’s still rebounding and dishing out assists, making plays for other people and getting deflections on defense,” Reed said.
Looking ahead, the River Hawks will face Drew at home on Feb. 11 at 2 p.m., where they will honor their four seniors: Komara, Palazzi, Gault and forward Lexi Biggs-Garcia. Susquehanna currently sits one game behind Elizabethtown for the final spot in the conference playoffs.
