The Muhlenberg women's basketball team could not recover from an early deficit in its Centennial Conference semifinal game against Haverford, eventually falling 60-47.
 
The Mules (22-4) were outscored 20-9 in the first period, but the team kept pushing to bring the deficit down to eight by halftime. Muhlenberg twice cut the Haverford lead down to six, the latter time coming early in the fourth period after two Brandi Vallely free throws. The Fords (21-6), however, pushed their lead back to double digits and sealed the game late with free throws.
 
Vallely led the Mules with 11 points to go with five rebounds and five assists. In the process, she topped 1,100 career points (1,103) and moved into 14th in Division III history with 655 career assists.
 
Senior Chelsea Gary finished with nine points and six rebounds while blocking four shots. She is now tied for 15th in CC history with 156 career blocks.
 
Junior Sara Dilly also tallied nine points, and junior Carley Hamilton grabbed six rebounds to go with four points and a block. Senior Christina Manning (pictured above) chipped in seven points.
 
Dilly scored the first seven Mule points on a fastbreak layup after a steal, another layup and a three-pointer off a feed from Vallely. The Fords, however, scored 16 points in that span and took a double-digit lead into the second period.
 
Senior Rachel Plotke then started a Muhlenberg 6-0 run with her first points of the game. A Hamilton layup and a Vallely jumper made it 22-16, but Haverford rallied again to extend its lead to 14. Three-pointers from Plotke and Vallely and fastbreak layup from Gary helped trim the deficit to 36-28 at the half.
 
Defense dominated the third period, with each team only scoring seven points apiece. Vallely started the fourth quarter with two free throws, making it 43-37. The Mules, however, could not trim the deficit any further, with Haverford outscoring the Mules 17-10 down the stretch.
 
With the win, the Fords advance to the Centennial Conference championship game, where they will face Gettysburg.
 
Muhlenberg now awaits a possible at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. The 2018 Division III tournament field will be determined Monday afternoon with an online selection show.