A dominant first-half performance pushed Muhlenberg women's basketball to a 73-49 victory over Dickinson and a 6-0 start to the season.
 
The Mules, who also picked up their third straight Centennial Conference victory, outscored the Red Devils (1-4, 1-1 CC) 23-8 in the first 10 minutes and took a 48-21 lead into halftime. The defense held Dickinson to just 21.9 percent shooting (7-32) in the first half, while the offense made 51.4 percent (18-35) from the field to start.
 
Senior Chelsea Gary dropped 21 points for the second consecutive game to lead Muhlenberg in scoring, shooting 9-for-10 at the charity stripe and 6-for-12 from the floor. She also finished with four rebounds and four blocks, moving into third in school history with 117 career blocks.
 
Senior Brandi Vallely, who earlier in the week was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week, flirted with a triple-double, scoring 15 points and collecting eight rebounds and seven assists. Senior Rachel Plotke added 14 points and led the team with three steals.
 
Junior Carley Hamilton and sophomore Caroline Hogg were big on the boards, grabbing eight and six rebounds, respectively. Hamilton also recorded a career-high four assists to go with four points, two blocks and two steals. Junior Sara Dilly added five rebounds as well.
 
The game started as a defensive battle through the first six minutes before the Mules closed the first period on a 13-0 run, starting with a jumper from Plotke. Vallely then scored five straight points before assisting Hogg on a layup. Gary then finished a layup off a nice inside dish from senior Christina Manning, who then followed with a jumper of her own before another Gary layup beat the buzzer to close the period.
 
Muhlenberg extended its lead to 29-9 on a Vallely layup and led by as many as 28 when Manning (pictured above) drained a baseline jumper off a Vallely assist with 4:45 left in the half. The Red Devils scored the next nine points before Vallely made two free throws to end the run. Consecutive triples from Plotke closed the half with the Mules up by 27.
 
The Mules maintained a 20-point advantage throughout the second half, with a free throw from freshman Ny Thomas providing their largest lead at 58-29 with 2:39 left in the third period.
 
Muhlenberg has now won 11 of the past 12 meetings with Dickinson, including CC semifinal games in both 2016 and 2017. The Mules have beaten the Red Devils in 13 straight home games dating back to 2007.