ALLENTOWN, PA - Muhlenberg College used an 17-4 run to open the second half and overcome a 33-32 Franklin & Marshall College halftime lead as the Mules overcame the Diplomats 68-46 in Centennial Conference women's basketball action at Memorial Hall.
Muhlenberg (10-1, 5-1 Centennial Conference) began the comeback 11 seconds into the second half as Meghan Courtney hit a jumper before adding a lay-up and free throw with 18:41 left in the game to put the Mules in front 37-33. Lacie Smith tacked on a lay-up 49 seconds later to build the lead to 39-33 before F&M point guard Dana Johns (Sr., York, PA/Eastern York) stroked a jumper at 17:26 to pull F&M (3-7, 1-3 Centennial Conference) back to within four points.
However, the Mules countered the bucket with a 21-2 spurt as Stephanie Coluccini hit a jumper at 17:14. Following a 30-second timeout by the Diplomats, Smith connected on a lay-up to go ahead 43-35. Johns broke the run with a jumper at 14:59, but Kristen Piscadlo made a free throw and a lay-up to push the lead to 46-37 with 13:09 left on the game clock.
The Mules continued to pull away as Lauren Boyle made a lay-up and the Mules tacked on a free throw to lead 49-37 with 12:11 to play. Maxie Etess (Fr., East Lyme, CT/Lyme-Old Lyme) made a lay-up at 11:52 to pull F&M to within 10 points, but the Mules responded with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to go ahead 58-39 as Muhlenberg rolled to the 22 point victory.
The game was all Muhlenberg in the early going of the first half as Smith made a pair of free throws to start an 11-0 Mules' run to open the game. F&M began to chip away at the margin as Miriam Marcis (Fr., Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) knocked down a three-pointer at the 16:15 mark of the first half and Sarah Meisenberg (Fr., Severna Park, MD/Severn School) dropped in a lay-up at 15:54 to slice the lead to 11-5.
Coluccini made a free throw and Piscadlo drained a three-pointer to push the lead back to 10 points at 15-5 with 15:13 left in the half, but Meisenberg made a lay-up and Muhlenberg's Tiffany Kirk knocked down a three-pointer to set the score at 18-7 with 13:35 left.
Franklin & Marshall trimmed the lead to a point with a 10-0 spurt as Brittany Braxton (So., Pearl River, NY/Nanuet) made a jumper, Johns added a lay-up, Meisenberg tallied back-to-back lay-ups and Amanda Miceli (Fr., North Caldwell, NJ/West Essex) added a lay-up for an 18-17 Muhlenberg lead with 9:37 left in the half.
F&M and Muhlenberg traded lay-ups before Meisenberg drilled a three-pointer at 6:21 to give F&M a 22-20 lead. Muhlenberg tied the score at 22-22 and 24-24 before Braxton added a free throw to put the Diplomats back in front 25-24 with 3:05 left.
The teams traded the lead over the next two minutes as Lauren Boyle made a lay-up with 42.8 seconds left to put Muhlenberg in front 30-29. However, Johns made both ends of a one-and-one and a pair of free throws at 29.7 and 12.6, respectively, to go ahead 33-30 before Boyle tacked on a pair at the charity stripe with 3.5 seconds remaining in the first half for the one point F&M lead at the break.
For F&M, Johns led the way with 16 points, two assists and six steals, while Meisenberg added 11 points, four rebounds and four steals.
Courtney led the way for the Mules with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Boyle and Piscaldo added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Franklin & Marshall will continue the season on January 12 at home versus Washington College in Centennial Conference action. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m. at the Mayser Center.
