HAVERFORD, Pa. – Hosting the defending Centennial Conference Champions inside the Gooding '84 Arena, the Haverford College women's basketball team raced out to 27-16 lead at halftime behind a lock down defense. However, the Mules – a team receiving votes in the latest national poll – reversed that trend in the second half during a 60-52 comeback victory.
Samantha Wetzel's 15 points led the Fords offensively. Three different players – Katie Cook, Macy Goldbach, and Anna-Sophia Capizzi – each had eight points in Haverford's balanced attack. Muhlenberg put three players in double figures with Chelsea Gary's 16 points leading her side.
Haverford held the Mules to just 5-of-29 shooting (17.2%) in the opening half. Muhlenberg was holding an 8-6 edge after 10 minutes, but the Fords cranked up the intensity on their way to a 21-8 advantage during the second quarter.
Stopping the Mules cold in their tracks, Haverford did not concede a second quarter point until midway through the period. That scoreless stretch reached 6:27 of playing time going back to when the Mules took the lead just before the first break. A jumper from Sierra Berkel capped the 13-0 run from the Fords and made the score 19-8 with 4:14 left in the half.
The Fords' lead grew to as many as 13 points when Capizzi knocked down a jumper with two minutes remaining in the half. Goldbach matched that margin with a three-pointer to answer Muhlenberg before the visitors got two points back at the free throw line before the teams retreated to the locker room.
Undeterred by the 11 point deficit it was facing, Muhlenberg scored 11 of the first 15 points in the third quarter. Although under pressure for the entire third quarter, the Fords never relinquished control of the lead until the final seconds of the third when a three-pointer from Muhlenberg's Christina Manning knotted the score at 36-all.
Muhlenberg continued its offensive pressure and finished with a 51 percent shooting mark in the second half, including a 5-of-9 mark from beyond the arc. The Fords kept pace with the hot-shooting Mules early in the quarter with three-pointers from Cook and Capizzi on back-to-back possessions, reclaiming leads on both occasions. Cook's final three ball of the night knotted the game at 48-all with 3:58 left in regulation, but Muhlenberg scored on three of its next five possessions and hit 5-of-6 at the free throw line in the final minute for the 60-52 victory.
Women's basketball will play its final game before the winter break this Saturday at Washington College. That Centennial Conference meeting against the Shorewomen will get underway at 2 p.m. and be followed by the men's game at 4 p.m.