women’s basketball suffers second
straight monday overtime loss

Something had to give when the Muhlenberg women’s basketball team, the highest scoring team in the Centennial Conference, met Johns Hopkins, which featured the CC’s top statistical defense.

But for 40 minutes, neither

Senior Kelly McKeon dished out 9 assists, one off her career high, and had 4 steals. The 9 assists gave her 404 in her career, making her the seventh player in CC history with at least 400.

team gave an inch. The Mules and Blue Jays exchanged runs with each team refusing to go away. And when regulation finally came to an end the two teams were back where they started, tied.

Unfortunately for Muhlenberg, it was Johns Hopkins that was able to land the final blow as the Blue Jays connected on their first four field goals in overtime en route to an 86-75 win. Hopkins (12-3, 9-2) moved into sole possession of first place in the Centennial Conference, a game ahead in the loss column of Muhlenberg (10-4, 6-3), Ursinus and Franklin & Marshall.

It was the second straight Monday that the Mules lost on the road in overtime, following last week’s 60-57 setback at DeSales.

In the game’s opening minutes, Johns Hopkins controlled the glass and led by as many as eight before Muhlenberg ratcheted up its defensive intensity. The Mules grabbed nine steals and forced 15 turnovers in the first half and went into halftime only down by five.

Then Muhlenberg stormed out of the locker room, scoring the first seven points of the second half and using a 21-8 run to lead by as many as eight with 9:25 to play.

Led by junior Alexandra Chili, who scored 24 her season-high 32 points in the second half, Muhlenberg still held a seven-point lead with 1:30 to play. However, Johns Hopkins rallied with a 9-0 run of its own and grabbed a 64-64 lead with 16.1 seconds remaining in the second half.

With the clock winding down, the Mules went inside to senior Sheila Cook. With her back to the basket, Cook dribbled and spun. Her shot banked cleanly off the square of the backboard and through the net to tie the score. The Blue Jays missed a hurried layup and the two teams headed to overtime.

But from there Johns Hopkins caught fire and rushed out to a seven-point lead in the extra session. The Mules closed it to four on Chili’s seventh, and final, 3-pointer before the Blue Jays - who shot 56 percent from the foul line in regulation - hit 10 consecutive free throws to hold on for the win.

By scoring 32 points, one short of her career high, Chili tied the school record with her fourth career 30-point game.

Junior Kathleen Naddaff finished with 12 points, including nine after halftime, while senior Alexandra Berlin added 11 points and three steals.
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