The Muhlenberg women's basketball team pulled away in the second half and defeated Neumann, 72-55, in the opening round of the Scotty Wood Tournament.

The Mules (2-2) advanced to the final for the 27th straight year and will face Catholic, an 80-48 winner against Penn State Abington, for the title.

Freshman Sara Peretti scored a career-high 18 points in her home debut, while sophomore Margaux Eripret added 11 in only 11 minutes off the bench. Senior Madison Kirchofer narrowly missed her first double-double, finishing with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Muhlenberg led by only two points, 43-41, before ending the third quarter on an 8-0 run to open up a double-digit advantage. 

A three-pointer by senior Ashley Polera and a jumper by Peretti (pictured above) at the start of the fourth quarter extended the lead to 56-41 and put the game out of reach.

The Mules held the Knights (2-2) to only six second-half field goals and had a big 52-33 rebounding margin.