Women's Basketball Remains Undefeated
Monday, December 5, 2011|
It wasn’t a blowout, but the Muhlenberg women’s basketball win over local rival DeSales was most certainly a Lan-slide.
Thanks in large part to big nights from sophomores Leeann Lanza and Erin Laney, the Mules used a strong second-half run to create some separation before grabbing a 66-60 win in a
Battling hard and going to the floor multiple times, Lanza finished with a career-high 14 points and
12 rebounds for her first career double-double. Laney, meanwhile, added nine points and tied her career high with seven boards.
“Leeann is really turning into a force on the inside, and I’m more of an outside player, so we work off of each other,”Laney said. “I was on for a stretch in the first half, and then she kind of took control in the paint. She is a really strong player and showed that tonight.”
The Mules (7-0) trailed by as many as eight during the first 10 minutes of the game, but led by 12 points split evenly between Lanza and Laney, outscored the Bulldogs 20-8 during the second 10 minutes to take a 32-27 lead into the locker room.
The game stayed tight early in the second half until junior Kate Clawson converted an old-fashioned
It was all part of an 18-7 run featuring six different scorers that increased the Mule lead to 65-50 by the 1:38 mark to all but put the game away.
“We came out a little flat, so we had to work to find our intensity,” Laney said. “They’re a really good team, and this was a good test for us both physically and mentally. We felt like if we just kept playing our game we would be fine, and that’s what happened.”
Junior Alita Zabrecky led the Mules with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while sophomore Colleen Caldwell poured in seven points and three helpers. Senior Alexandra Chili dished out a team-high six assists.
Thanks to four players with at least seven rebounds apiece, Muhlenberg held a 51-35 edge on the glass to beat the Bulldogs (3-3) for the sixth time in their last seven regular-season meetings. The Mules also assisted on 18 of their 27 baskets, which according to Laney, shows just how unselfish the team is.
“We feel like everyone on our team is good enough to be a starter,”Laney said. “Everybody can score, so if somebody is having an off night, it doesn’t matter because everyone else can pick it up. We got a lot of good contributions tonight, and hopefully we can keep spreading the points around.”
|
