Despite a delayed start due to travel issues, the Muhlenberg women's basketball team did not seem fazed in defeating McDaniel 78-50 and securing the second seed for the Centennial Conference Tournament.
 
The Mules (18-7, 15-5 CC) shot a season-best 10-17 from three-point range (58.8 percent) while holding the Green Terror (11-14, 9-11 CC) to a 31.7 percent clip (19-60) and 0-for-6 day from long range. Muhlenberg spread the ball on offense, dishing out 20 assists as a team for the seventh time this season. Fourteen different Mules scored in the game and they forced 13 turnovers as a team on defense.
 
With the win, Muhlenberg clinched the second seed for next weekend's Centennial Conference playoffs, winning a tiebreaker with Dickinson who also finished 15-5 in league play after its win over Washington College. Haverford had already clinched the first seed and will host Friday's two semifinal contests as well as the championship game Saturday.
 
Four Mules scored in double figures, led by junior Rachel Plotke who had 14 points and five assists, making 4-of-5 three-pointers. Freshman Emilie Benton scored a career-high 13 points, draining 4-of-7 total attempts and 3-of-5 shots from three-point land.
 
Junior Brandi Vallely contributed 12 points to go with a team-high six rebounds and five assists. Vallely is now 12 assists away from breaking the school's career record, and she is only three away from establishing the second most assists in a season, a record she broke last year.
 
Sophomore Carley Hamilton added 10 points and five rebounds in her second straight start. Senior Maggie Zerbe (pictured above) chipped in eight points while making two of Muhlenberg's nine steals in the game.
 
Muhlenberg gained the upper hand early, with Plotke nailing a deep three-pointer to put the Mules up 11-7 midway through the first period. Senior Maggie Zerbe then forced a turnover on defense before finishing a layup on the offensive end off a nice entry pass from sophomore Sara Dilly. After a McDaniel jumper, Vallely finished a transition layup after getting a steal to put Muhlenberg up 15-9 after one period.
 
The Mules took their first double-digit lead when freshman Ashley Polera made a layup to make it 19-9. Plotke's third triple of the game extended the advantage to 29-15 halfway through the second period, and Vallely continued the Muhlenberg run with a three-pointer of her own a couple minutes later. The Mules held the Green Terror without a point while forcing three turnovers for the final 5:55 of the first half, with a Vallely three at the buzzer sending the teams into halftime at 37-15.
 
Muhlenberg maintained at least a 20-point advantage throughout the third period, increasing the margin to as many as 31 after Benton swished a three-pointer from the wing to make it 57-26. Benton's second three-pointer pushed the lead up to 30 again early in the fourth period, and the Mules played the final eight minutes of the game with its reserves on the floor.
 
After losing CC contests to Dickinson, Washington, Gettysburg and McDaniel earlier in the season, Muhlenberg beat each of those teams by at least 10 points the second time around as part of the team's 10-1 stretch since last facing McDaniel on January 14.