Box Score LANCASTER, Pa. – Muhlenberg used a second half run to drop F&M 70-58 in Centennial Conference (CC) women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at the Mayser Center. The Diplomats fell to 3-20, 1-15 CC, while the Mules improved to 14-9, 10-6 CC.
Seniors Kristina McCarthy, Emma Lisle, Sam Plunkett, and Shea Costantino were honored before the game on senior day.
Trailing by four points, F&M's Jessica Dowicz sank a free throw to bring the Diplomats within three at 55-52 with 9:55 remaining in the contest. Muhlenberg followed with a 10-1 run over the next five minutes of action to take a 65-53 lead with 4:58 to go. The Mules played tough defense down the stretch and would not let the Diplomats get any closer than nine points en route to the 70-58 victory.
It was a close and entertaining first half as F&M jumped out to a 10-4 lead with 17:05 left. From there, Muhlenberg countered with its own 10-4 spurt to tie the game at 14-14 with 14:17 remaining. The Mules went on to score nine of the next 10 points to take a 23-15 advantage with 11:27 to go in the first.
Over the next five minutes of play, the Diplomats went on a 10-2 run to tie the game at 25-25 with 6:36 on the clock. The teams traded buckets for the remainder of the first half and the contest was tied 33-33 heading into intermission.
Throughout the beginning of the second half, the score was close as neither team went on a large run, until Muhlenberg's 10-1 burst that put the Mules ahead 65-53 and put the game out of reach.
McCarthy paced F&M, scoring a game-high 22 points and bringing down 13 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season. Lisle recorded 10 points and 15 boards for her third double-double of the year, while Plunkett notched 12 points.
Leanna Tallamy led Muhlenberg with 20 points, while Laura Gregory scored 11 and Christina Santone added 10.
The Diplomats outrebounded the Mules 50-37, however Muhlenberg's bench played a key role, scoring 35 points.
F&M returns to action on Wednesday for the final home game of the season when the Diplomats take on Gettysburg. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.
