Box ScoreLeanna Tallamy's school-record streak of 11 straight double-doubles came to an end when she grabbed only eight rebounds in the Muhlenberg women's basketball team's 79-67 win against Dickinson.
"I know," she said with more sarcasm than sincerity. "It's a sad day."
Nobody was shedding any tears for Tallamy following the game, because she more than made up for her lowest rebounding total since late November by scoring 35 points in leading the Mules to their ninth straight win.
The 35 points (16 in the first half and 19 in the second) were four short of the school record and the most scored by a Muhlenberg player since 1992. Tallamy was 9-for-20 from the field and 17-for-18 from the line.
"I had no idea," said Tallamy of the high point total, the most by a Centennial Conference player in a league game in nine years. "I was just too wrapped up in the game and just trying to get us a win."
Tallamy overshadowed some other noteworthy performances. A game after recording her first career double-double, reigning CC player of the week Laura Gregory notched her second, with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Senior Janelle Fleet (pictured above) scored a career-high 10 points, while fellow point guard Hannah Rush added 11 (one off her career high).
Contributions by all were needed to put away a game Dickinson squad that looked nothing like a team that came in with a record of 4-13. The Red Devils, who lost by 19 to the Mules at home earlier in the season, overcame a 10-point deficit early in the second half to tie the game at 43-all with 13 minutes to play.
The score was tied again at 49 three minutes later when Gregory rebounded a missed shot and passed off to Rush, who drove the length of the court for a layup and foul that put Muhlenberg ahead to stay.
Dickinson continued to stay close and trailed only 55-53 at the eight-minute mark. That's when the Mules (12-5, 11-2) turned to Tallamy: She scored 14 of the team's next 15 points, giving Muhlenberg a 10-point lead with just over two minutes to play.
"It was just a game of mental toughness," Tallamy said. "A team like that doesn't have anything to lose, and we overlooked them at the start. I think we needed a bit of a reality check. We're hot and everyone is looking to beat us. We have to not get too high and just keep playing basketball and keep playing together."
 The win sets up Muhlenberg for a key three-game stretch in which it travels to first-place McDaniel on Saturday and then returns home to face the last two CC champions (Haverford and Gettysburg). With more than three weeks to go in the regular season, the Mules have already clinched a tie for the fifth and final playoff spot thanks to their nine-game run.
"It's an amazing feeling to keep this streak going, especially the way we started the season," said Tallamy. "It's a lot of fun and I just want to keep it going."
