HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team (1-1) earned its first victory of the 2026-27 season Tuesday evening, defeating Stockton (1-1) by a 62-51 score at Calvin J. Gooding '84 Arena. The victory marked the first collegiate head coaching win for first-year head coach Andre Gibbs, as the Fords built a 13-point halftime advantage and held off a third-quarter Stockton rally before pulling away in the final period.
Georgia Koff-Gilmore paced Haverford with a career-high 17 points, connecting on seven field goals while adding four rebounds and three steals. Audrey Jakway recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Shae Mercer added 12 points and three assists. Lily Zawisny anchored the Fords on the glass with a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with four assists.
Stockton established an early advantage, opening the contest with consecutive baskets from Sienna Fedoruk and Mackenzie McDonald to take a 4-0 lead. Koff-Gilmore put Haverford on the board with a jumper off a Mercer assist before Jakway found Mercer for another basket, evening the score at four with 6:28 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Fords began to create separation from there, using a strong defensive effort to hold the Ospreys scoreless for more than five minutes. Bri Heafey converted a pair of free throws to give Haverford its first lead at 6-4 before Cayla Menicola added two more attempts from the charity stripe to extend the advantage to four.
Jakway then provided an offensive spark late in the period, finishing a layup with 2:19 remaining before connecting from beyond the arc just 16 seconds later. The junior also converted a free throw following the three-pointer, completing a four-point play that pushed Haverford's advantage to 14-4.
Stockton ended its scoring drought with a basket from Booch Nnebe in the final minute, but the Fords carried a 14-6 lead into the second quarter after limiting the Ospreys to just 23.1 percent shooting in the opening 10 minutes.
Haverford continued to control the contest in the second period, with Koff-Gilmore opening the quarter with a jumper off a Zawisny assist to restore the double-digit advantage. After Stockton answered with a basket, Zawisny finished inside to make it 18-8 with 7:06 remaining.
The Fords extended their lead to 12 following a defensive sequence that began with a Heafey steal. Heafey pushed the ball ahead to Koff-Gilmore, who converted a fast-break layup to give Haverford a 20-8 advantage with 6:39 remaining.
Stockton briefly trimmed the deficit to 10, but Haverford continued to answer. Jakway collected an offensive rebound and found Menicola for a basket before Emily Abramovitch knocked down a jumper off a Jakway assist to make it 24-12.
Mercer followed with another basket in the closing minutes, extending the Fords' lead to 26-12 with 1:28 remaining. Jakway then finished a layup off an Abramovitch assist with 36 seconds left, matching Haverford's largest lead of the half at 28-14.
Angie Pacheco converted a free throw for Stockton in the final seconds, sending the Fords into the locker room holding a 28-15 advantage.
Haverford's defense proved particularly effective throughout the opening half, limiting Stockton to just six made field goals on 28 attempts. The Ospreys also went 0-for-7 from beyond the arc through the first 20 minutes, while the Fords held a 14-9 advantage in the second quarter.
Stockton emerged from halftime with renewed momentum, opening the third quarter with seven consecutive points to cut Haverford's advantage to 28-22. Nnebe started the run with a layup before Joy LeCato added consecutive baskets and a free throw, bringing the Ospreys within six with 7:41 remaining.
Koff-Gilmore answered with a timely three-pointer off a Jakway assist to restore a nine-point cushion before adding another jumper to extend the lead to 33-22. The junior then converted a free throw to make it 34-22 with just over six minutes remaining.
The Ospreys continued to chip away, however, with Pacheco and McDonald helping Stockton close the gap. Pacheco connected on a jumper with 4:31 remaining to bring the visitors within five at 34-29, their smallest deficit since the opening quarter.
Haverford responded from beyond the arc, as Mercer knocked down a three-pointer with 3:21 remaining to restore an eight-point advantage. Stockton answered with a basket from Nnebe, but the Fords maintained a 37-31 lead heading into the final period despite being outscored 16-9 in the third.
The Scarlet and Black came out of the fourth quarter with renewed offensive urgency, immediately beginning to rebuild their advantage.
Koff-Gilmore opened the period with a fast-break layup off an Abramovitch assist before converting a three-point play with 8:56 remaining, pushing Haverford's lead back to double digits at 42-31.
After a Stockton free throw, Abramovitch finished a fast-break layup off a Koff-Gilmore assist to extend the advantage to 44-32. Jakway then added another basket inside, giving the Fords a 46-34 lead with 7:18 remaining.
Heafey provided another important contribution from beyond the arc, connecting on a three-pointer off a Mercer assist with 6:28 remaining to make it 49-36. Abramovitch followed with a jumper before Jakway finished inside to extend Haverford's advantage to 53-36 with 4:18 remaining, its largest lead of the evening.
Stockton responded with a late surge, as Madisyn McNair connected from beyond the arc before Saafiyah Wilson scored consecutive baskets to trim the deficit to 53-43 with 3:11 remaining.
The Fords answered with another timely three-pointer, as Heafey connected from long range off a Zawisny assist to push the lead back to 13. Wilson followed with a three-pointer for Stockton, but Mercer finished inside with 58 seconds remaining to make it 58-46.
Stockton continued to battle in the final minute, but Mercer converted three free throws down the stretch while Urvi Iyer added another from the line to secure the 62-51 victory.
Haverford turned in its strongest offensive quarter of the evening in the fourth, connecting on nine of 12 field-goal attempts for an impressive 75 percent shooting percentage. The Fords also made two of their four three-point attempts and scored 25 points in the final period after managing just nine in the third.
Jakway complemented her double-double with four assists and two blocked shots, while Mercer added three rebounds and a block. Koff-Gilmore finished with three steals and four offensive rebounds, providing an important presence on both ends of the floor.
Zawisny's 12 rebounds included nine defensive boards, while the junior also distributed four assists and recorded a blocked shot. Heafey supplied eight points off the bench, connecting on two three-pointers while adding four rebounds, two assists and three steals. Abramovitch contributed six points and four assists, while Menicola finished with four points.
Stockton was led by Wilson, who scored nine points off the bench on 4-of-8 shooting. Pacheco and Nnebe added eight points apiece, while LeCato and Katie Rausch each contributed five. McNair finished with six rebounds and three steals for the Ospreys.
Haverford finished the contest shooting 38.3 percent from the field while holding Stockton to 33.3 percent. The Fords also held a 39-37 advantage in rebounding and distributed 18 assists on 23 made field goals. Haverford scored 11 fast-break points compared to five for the Ospreys and limited the visitors to just three three-pointers on 11 attempts.
Haverford now turns its attention to a Saturday, Nov. 14, home matchup against St. Joseph's (Long Island) at Calvin J. Gooding '84 Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m., as the Fords look to build on their first victory of the season.
