HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team made Muhlenberg College earn its 74-72 overtime victory Wednesday evening at Gooding Arena. The Fords nearly spoiled Muhlenberg's hopes for a regular season Centennial Conference title. Nina Voith's jumper with 1:28 left tied the score at 60-all, but the Mules outscored HC 14-12 in the extra frame.
Voith registered her seventh double-double of the season for Haverford (6-17, 4-15 CC). She scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Dominique Meeks and Victoria Sobocinski both netted 14 points. Meredith Schoyer and Liz Mayell added seven points apiece while Sara Cram collected six boards, two steals and dished out three assists in her final home game.
Muhlenberg (19-4, 16-3 CC) also placed three players in double figures. Alexandra Chili scored 22 points while Kelly McKeon posted a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 16 caroms. Sheila Cook added 15 for the Mules.
The first half went back and forth for the first 10 minutes until the Fords embarked on a 10-0 run that started with 9:26 to go when Sobocinski hit a three. Consecutive layups by Meeks followed by another Sobocinski trey put HC ahead 28-21 as the half approached the five-minute mark. Muhlenberg calmly responded with a 10-3 run to tie the score before the end of the half. Chilli accounted for four of the points. Haverford held a 31-25 lead with two minutes left, but the Mules reeled off the final six points.
The Mules took the lead to start the second half, but HC kept it close and eventually tied the score at 42-42 when Sobocinski hit a three-ball with 14:00 and took the lead back on the next possession on a Schoyer layup. Muhlenberg took control of the game as a 6-0 run put them up, 48-44. The Mules went on to hold the lead for the over eight minutes and were ahead by as much as seven. Haverford steadily got back into the game and tied the score at 60-60 with 1:28 on Voith's jumper. Neither team could get a good shot on their last possession, sending the game into overtime.
The Fords scored first in overtime when Sobocinski hit a jumper, but the Mules scored the next eight points to take a 68-62 lead. Voith nailed a three from the top of the key with 1:01. Haverford needed a stop on the defensive end, but Cook swished an 18-footer from the left wing to put the Mules up by five. Voith was fouled at the other end of the floor and sank both ends of a one-and-one, but Maiza Mock made both her free throws to push the lead back to five. Meeks grabbed a rebound off a missed jumper and her putback was good and the Fords called timeout with 7.2 seconds left. Haverford fouled immediately on the inbound to stop the clock. McKeon made both free throws for a five-point lead. Miller hit a three as time expired to provide the final margin.
The Fords wrap up the 2009-10 season at Swarthmore College this Saturday at 2 p.m.