ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Georgia Haverlock drilled a 17-foot jump shot for Roberts Wesleyan College's first basket 41 seconds into Wednesday night's East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament first-round game against Mercy College.
It truly was just the beginning.
Haverlock, a sophomore guard, made 12 of 17 shots from the field and scored a career-high 28 points as the fourth-seeded Redhawks defeated the fifth-seeded Mavericks 70-64 at the Voller Athletic Center to earn a spot in Saturday's semifinals against top-seeded Daemen.
"Georgia was special tonight," Roberts coach Kevin Clifford said. "She's a special scorer and she can do things that other players just can't do."
Haverlock did not score again in the first quarter, but scored nine points in the second quarter, eight in the third and seven in the fourth.
"I felt like I could not miss," Haverlock said. "So, I just kept shooting."
And making.
"Georgia was on fire," said sophomore point guard Danielle DiCintio, who led Roberts with seven assists. "When someone is on fire, it's my job to get them the ball.
"I give my teammates a lot of credit for setting screens for me and passing the ball," said Haverlock, who added five rebounds and eclipsed her previous career high by nine points.
DiCintio, senior Taryn Wilson and sophomore Toni Neely-Primus all added 10 points and five rebounds for the Redhawks (14-11). Senior center Dimitra Gkizani added nine points and 13 rebounds.
"We had great balance," Clifford said. "I was really proud of our effort."
Roberts opened an early 12-3 lead, but the Mavericks battled back to pull within 36-34 at the half. Gk
Haverlock scored six points to key an 11-0 run over a 4:30 span late in the third quarter and the Redhawks took a 55-47 lead into the fourth quarter. Roberts held Mercy to 3-for-8 shooting from the field and made 7 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter to close out the game.
Roberts, which split with Mercy during the regular season, also benefitted from a 40-25 advantage in rebounding.
"We call it gang rebounding and today our gang rebounding was really good," Clifford said.
The Redhawks, who won the ECC Tournament last spring, embraced the playoff atmosphere.
"We came in with a little bit more energy because we know that if you lose, you go home," Haverlock said.
The victory also allowed Wilson and Gkizani to walk off the VAC floor victorious in their final home game as Redhawks.
"It's definitely an awesome feeling to go out with a win," Wilson said.
Roberts travels to Daemen play the top-seeded Wildcats at noon on Saturday.
Damen defeated Roberts twice during the regular season.