The Muhlenberg women's basketball team could not make a road comeback happen for a second straight time, falling just short in a 67-61 defeat at Gettysburg.
 
The Mules (8-5, 6-3) built a halftime advantage but the Bullets (9-4, 5-3) played a strong third period to take the lead. Muhlenberg launched its comeback in the fourth period trailing 53-43.
 
The Mules scored the first six points of the fourth, with junior Brandi Vallely driving and making a layup while getting fouled to cap the run. Her free throw made it 53-49 with eight minutes to go.
 
The two teams answered point-for-point to keep the margin at four until Gettysburg went up 63-57 with less than two minutes left. Vallely cut the lead back to four with a finger-roll layup and the Mules took a timeout with 1:16 to go.
 
After a stop on the defensive end, junior Christina Manning gathered an offensive rebound and put back a layup with her left hand to make it 63-61 with thirty seconds left. A turnover provided the Mules with a chance to tie the game, but an offensive foul gave possession back over to Gettysburg and free throws sealed the Mules' fate.
 
Vallely led the Mules with 21 points, seven assists and four steals to go with four rebounds. Junior Rachel Plotke scored 10 points while freshman JulieAnne Martin drained three of five shots, including both her three-point attempts, to total eight points off the bench.
 
The Mules led 19-18 after the first period and started the second on an 8-2 run capped off with a three from Plotke (pictured above). The Bullets launched a mini-run of their own before threes from Martin and Vallely gave Muhlenberg a 33-24 advantage. Gettysburg scored the next eight of the next 10 points however as the Mules went into halftime with a 35-32 lead.
 
Senior Maggie Zerbe led the Mules on the glass with a career-high 14 rebounds and added six points. Junior Chelsea Gary, who earlier in the day earned Lehigh Valley Small College Basketball Scholar Athlete honors, contributed six points and seven rebounds as well.
 
Muhlenberg outrebounded Gettysburg 51-47, including a 16-11 advantage on the offensive boards. The second-chance opportunities translated into 16 points for the Mules.