Box Score

The Muhlenberg women's basketball team led from start - literally - to finish and bounced back from its first loss of the season with a 74-45 win at Washington College.

Combined with a loss by Ursinus to Gettysburg, the win put the Mules (11-1, 6-1) into a tie for first place in the Centennial Conference with McDaniel.

Muhlenberg won the opening tip, and sophomore Brandi Vallely passed to classmate Rachel Plotke for a three-pointer just seven seconds in. The Mules scored the first seven points of the game and remained comfortably ahead for the entire game.

Plotke finished with a team-high 15 points, and Vallely contributed 12 points, six assists, six steals and five rebounds. Sophomore Christina Manning also reached double figures, scoring 10 points.

Ahead 37-26 early in the thitd quarter, Muhlenberg broke open the game with a 15-0 run, holding the Shorewomen (3-9, 0-6) scoreless for more than six minutes. The ninth-ranked Mules made five of six field-goal attempts during the run, which also featured three blocked shots by senior Christina Santone, en route to shooting 57.7 percent in the second half.

The big lead allowed the Mules to substitute more freely after two close games, and all 12 players who appeared scored at least one point. Freshman Meghan Falk (pictured above) tied her career high of eight points in just nine minutes.

The Mules, who came into the game ranked fifth in Division III in field-goal percentage defense, held Washington to 23.4-percent shooting.