Cross country

women’s basketball playoff schedule set

The Muhlenberg women’s basketball team will travel to Baltimore this weekend looking to add to its record five Centennial Conference championships.

The Mules (19-5, 16-4) are the second seed in the five-team tournament

Playoff Schedule Wednesday, February 23   (5) Ursinus at (4) Franklin & Marshall, 7:30 Saturday, February 26 (at Johns Hopkins)   (2) Muhlenberg vs. (3) Gettysburg, 1:00   (1) Johns Hopkins vs. Franklin & Marshall or Ursinus, 3:00 Sunday, February 27 (at Johns Hopkins)   championship, 2:00

and will face third-seeded Gettysburg (19-6, 14-6) at 1:00 on Saturday in one semifinal. Top seed and host Johns Hopkins (20-4, 17-3)

Alexandra Chili scored 17 points and dished out three assists during Muhlenberg’s win over Gettysburg in November.

awaits the winner of Wednesday’s first-round game between Franklin & Marshall (13-12, 11-9) and Ursinus (15-10, 11-9) for the other semi.

Saturday’s winners square off at 2:00 on Sunday at Johns Hopkins for the CC championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

In an extremely competitive CC season, Muhlenberg won its last six games to secure the second seed. The Mules have not lost in the month of February, including wins over the playoff-bound Diplomats and Bears.

Muhlenberg split its pair of regular season meetings with the Bullets. The Mules won the first matchup, 63-60, in late November in Allentown. Gettysburg returned the favor with a 70-57 home-court win in January.

In the NCAA regional rankings released last Wednesday, before the Bullets’ most recent loss to Dickinson, Muhlenberg was sixth in the Mid-Atlantic, and Gettysburg was fourth. Johns Hopkins was the highest-ranked CC representative, checking in at third.

Muhlenberg has qualified for the CC postseason in 17 of the 18 years since the conference expanded to include women's basketball. The Mules have advanced to the championship game nine times, including the last three in a row. Muhlenberg has gone 2-0 against Gettysburg in the CC playoffs, including an 80-65 win in the 2008 title game.

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