Junior Meghan Courtney scored a career-high 25 points to lead the Muhlenberg women’s basketball team to an important 66-44 Centennial

Courtney leads the Mules in scoring (14.3 points per game) and rebounding (9.7 per game).

Conference win at Swarthmore.

The Mules (5-1, 2-1) had dropped five of their last seven at the home of their former East Division rival, with the only two wins coming by three points in 2000 and by six points in 2004.

Muhlenberg scored the first nine points of the game, but the Garnet (4-4, 1-2) regrouped to cut the deficit to four by halftime. The lead fluctuated between four and eight for the first 9:11 of the second half before the Mules went on a 12-2 run to open up a commanding 56-38 lead at the six-minute mark.

“We realized in the second half that Swarthmore wasn’t going to roll over, so we picked up the intensity,” said Courtney, who was one of six Mules to score in the 12-2 run. “When our offense wasn’t hitting, we stepped up other parts of our game.”

Two parts that were particularly excellent in the second half were defense and rebounding. Muhlenberg held Swarthmore to 16.7-percent shooting and owned a 27-16 advantage on the boards in the final 20 minutes.

Freshman Lauren Boyle scored nine of her 13 points in the first half, and senior Lacie Smith notched eight of her team-high 10 rebounds in the second half. Courtney, whose previous career high was 18 points, scored 15 in the second half.

“I had amazing passes from everyone, so it was really a team 25 points,” she said. “It was a complete effort, and we finally put two halves together.”

Click here for box score.