Box Score

The first full week of 2015 brought a daunting task for the Muhlenberg women's basketball team. Centennial Conference matchups with two undefeated teams in four days looked like it would be the toughest stretch of the remaining schedule.

A 72-64 win over previously 9-0 McDaniel Wednesday night was a nice boost, but going on the road to knock off 10-0 Gettysburg proved to be much more exciting.

Down 37-30 with under six minutes to go, the Mules made a run to take the lead, and a Leanna Tallamy layup-plus-the-foul with 27.8 seconds to play proved to be the game-winner, as Muhlenberg handed Gettysburg its first loss of the season, 47-46.

"We finally are coming together and playing well. After the huge win against McDaniel on Wednesday, we wanted to come in and beat these guys too. Defeating two undefeated teams in one week is incredible," Tallamy said.

Following up a double-double on Wednesday, Tallamy again had a big game, scoring a game-high 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. After picking up her fourth foul with 9:57 to play, she was saddled on the bench for several minutes. Down the stretch the rest did her well, as she scored the Mules' last 10 points to close out the game.

In the end, it came down to will.

"I knew that we just wanted to win this game so badly, and it was going to be a tough one to grind out. I just knew that we had it. Towards the end, we had a good group come in and give us a really good run, so our starters came back in and knew we had to finish it," Tallamy (pictured left) said.

That good group was the second team, which came in and sparked the run that gave the Mules (6-5, 5-2) the lead late. Caroline Barberi, who drilled a three to start the run, and Maggie Zerbe, who finished a layup, were two of bench players who made big contributions in crunch time.

"Knowing that we have the bench that can do that made us know we could come in and finish the game and get a win," Tallamy said.

Christina Santone again made her presence known in the middle with seven points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.  The Mule defense shined bright in Gettysburg's gym,  holding the Bullets (10-1, 5-1) to 26.7-percent shooting from the field. 

With little question who would get the final shot for the Mules, Tallamy won position on the right block and Nicole Pepe (five points, four assists) tossed her an entry pass. Tallamy willed her way up for a layup despite being hounded by two Bullet defenders and finished plus the contact.

 "If I was setting up on the block the goal was to get it to me, if not Tina was going to flash down. After the first layup I made, I wanted them to keep feeding it to me," Tallamy said.

"It felt awesome, even though I missed the free throw. Getting the layup down was the important part."

With 1.8 seconds left, a tie-up gave Gettysburg the ball back for a last-second chance to win it, but Christina Santone grabbed a loose ball off the inbounds pass, which commenced bench-clearing celebration at midcourt.                  

With this win, the Mules pull into a tie for second place in the Centennial at 5-2 with Johns Hopkins, just a half game behind three teams (Gettysburg, McDaniel and Haverford) tied for first.  

"If we keep working hard, keep running our stuff and keep getting better, we will host the Conference Championship in our gym," Tallamy said.