Box Score | Video Recap

Nearly eight minutes into Muhlenberg women's basketball's conference tilt with Swarthmore, the teams stood locked at eight points apiece.

From that point forward, the Mules exploded for 41 points to end the half, and came away with an 85-60 victory. A 12-0 run, capped off by a jumper from reserve Michelle Poole, helped Muhlenberg pull away for their fifth straight win.

Poole brought a surge of energy by hitting her first three shots off the bench en route to a career-high 12 points.  Her benchmates' hustle midway through the first half was a big reason why the Mules were able to win by a quarter century.

"I think a large part of what helps for me personally coming off the bench is having energy while we're on the bench," Poole said.  "A lot of us feed off of each other on and off the court, and our bench energy is fantastic. Just watching the game you get wrapped up in, so once you get in the game you know exactly what's going on and you just want to contribute. "

Another big reason for the lopsided win was reigning Centennial Conference player of the week Leanna Tallamy. The senior forward recorded her eighth straight double-double, scoring 27 points and owning 13 rebounds.  She was 9-for-15 from the field, using her post moves inside to get easy buckets, and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.

With Tallamy as the centerpiece, the Mules (8-5, 6-2 CC) won their second straight game by 25 or more and fifth straight overall.  Spirits are high, but as Poole said, Muhlenberg feels it is just beginning to reach its potential.

"It's exciting, really. We just come to practice every single day with the mentality that we want to get better. We know that we are going to have to work every day to achieve that," Poole said.

While 12 points and 6-of-9 shooting was nice, from a personal standpoint Poole's, as well as her coach's, favorite play she made was likely the charge she took in the second half.

"Coach always says that taking a charge is a hustle play. It's not glorified three or an and-one. Mentally you just want to be there and take it, because that means you outworked someone else," Poole said.

Inside, the Mules dominated the boards, outrebounding Swarthmore 62-37, while holding the Garnet (4-10, 1-7 CC) to just 19-for-72 shooting from the field. Laura Gregory scored just a single point, but grabbed nine rebounds to tie a career high, while Maggie Zerbe grabbed seven without scoring.

Nicole Pepe (pictured right) had 12 points as the other Mule in double figures.