The Muhlenberg women’s basketball team has become known for its scoring this season, but the Mules defeated Dickinson with their defense, allowing just eight first-half field goals on the way to an 82-57 win in Carlisle.

The Mules (14-5, 9-3) held the Red Devils without a bucket for nearly 11 minutes, from the 16:36 mark to 5:49. With the Devil offense shut down, the Mules went on a 17-0 run. Senior Jill Friedman scored eight of her team-high 17 points during the spurt.

After Dickinson (9-7, 6-5) finally put in a field goal, sophomore Kristen Piscadlo ignited another run, as the Mules scored nine points in 35 seconds. Piscadlo started it with a three-pointer at the 5:00 mark. After a Devil turnover and a Mule miss, Piscadlo grabbed the offensive rebound, which led to a Friedman layup.

Senior Lindsay Tis then stole the ball and drove in for a layup and was the beneficiary of a Piscadlo steal and assist, as she scored to push the lead to 42-19 with 4:25 left in the half. Piscadlo finished with nine points, four steals and three assists.

Muhlenberg had 16 steals in the first half, on the way to a 50-27 lead at the break. The Mules finished with 20 steals and have made 382 this season, six shy of the school record. Friedman, junior Gwen Doyle and senior Susan Marchiano each had three takeaways.

It was Dickinson’s defense that was making headlines before the contest. The Devils had Division III’s 10th-best field-goal percentage defense in last week’s statistical rankings.

Dickinson cut the deficit to 15 twice in the second half, but could get no closer, and the Mules went on a 10-0 run to seal the game in the closing minutes.

Junior Aril Bryant dished out four assists, and seniors Becky Richmond and Marchiano each scored 12 points. Marchiano added nine rebounds, and Friedman led the squad with 11 boards for her sixth double-double of the season. The Mules outrebounded the nation’s eighth-best team in rebounding margin, 54-48.

With the win and a 70-62 Johns Hopkins win against Franklin & Marshall, Muhlenberg gained sole possession of third place in the Centennial Conference.

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