The Elizabethtown College women’s basketball team has been cruising through their regular season and their efforts are now being recognized. The Blue Jays have been one of the most consistent teams in Division III Women’s College Basketball this season, only suffering one loss to #6 Scranton, and have now scored a top 25 ranking.
The team first broke into the rankings early in January and they have now leaped into the top 20. As of Jan. 28, the Blue Jays are perched at #19 in the national rankings. Their scorching hot run has only continued since. Their latest win came this past weekend at home against Susquehanna by a convincing score of 79-52.
The first quarter was a bit underwhelming for the Blue Jays. Susquehanna went up on the home favorite 17-13 by the time the first quarter horn sounded. However, during the break, something must have clicked for Etown. The team came out firing on all cylinders, scoring 17 of their own points, holding their opponent to 13 and tying the game before the two teams headed to the locker room for halftime.
What came next was one of the best halves of basketball the Blue Jays had played all season. As soon as the third quarter opened, Etown took over. It was utter dominance from buzzer to buzzer, as they jumped out to an 18-point lead by the time the third quarter was over. In the fourth quarter, their comfortable lead was solidified with another solid performance from end to end, holding the River Hawks to just nine points. In the second half, the Blue Jays shot a stunning 58.6% (17-29) from the field, including a near-perfect 66.7% (4-6) from behind the arc.
Sophomore center DaniRae Renno led the team in scoring with 14 points and tallied six rebounds. Three other Blue Jays also broke into double figures. Sophomore guard Summer McNulty had 13 points of her own, first-year guard Kaeli Romanowski contributed 12 and junior forward Jessica King netted 10. King also grabbed eleven rebounds, finishing with a double-double.
Saturday’s win moves the team to 17-1 on the season, extending their win streak to four games. They also hold a perfect home record this season and will look to carry that through their next game against Juniata. That game will be on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at home in the Thompson Gymnasium at 7 p.m.
