For the first time in four years, the Muhlenberg women’s basketball team is ranked in the top 25 in Division III.

The Mules (18-2) are ranked 22nd in the D3hoops.com poll and 23rd in the USA Today ESPN/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association poll. They were just outside the top 25 in both last week, before winning at then-No. 19 Moravian.

Muhlenberg achieved its highest national ranking ever in 2002, climbing to No. 8.

One of 19 teams in Division III with two or fewer losses, the Mules also appear in the NCAA statistical rankings through Sunday’s games. The team is seventh in Division III in field-goal percentage defense (.314) and ninth in scoring defense (50.0 points per game). Senior Kristen Piscadlo is 14th with her average of 5.9 assists per game.

The Muhlenberg women’s basketball team clinched a Centennial Conference playoff berth with a 58-50 win at Bryn Mawr.

Ahead by only two points at halftime, the Mules (19-2, 13-2) gradually

Senior Lacie Smith became the second Mule forward in as many games to reach the 500-rebound mark. She pulled down eight boards, increasing her career total to 503, and hit a three-pointer with 8:25 left in the first half to kick off a 10-2 run that gave Muhlenberg the lead for good.

pulled away, building a 10-point lead with nine minutes to go and holding off the Owls (3-20, 0-16) to remain a game behind first-place Johns Hopkins, which handily defeated McDaniel.

Senior Kristen Piscadlo scored 10 points and had eight assists to break her own school record of 117 assists in a season. She now has 125 for the year and 385 for her career, good for seventh place on the Centennial’s all-time list.

“It feels great because it means everyone is making shots and playing well,” said Piscadlo, who set the record two years ago when Muhlenberg was the highest-scoring women’s basketball team in the country. The Mules are averaging more than 25 points per game fewer this season. “It shows a lot about our team, that we can set the ball up and make quality shots.”

Junior Meghan Courtney improved her shot-making in the second half, going 7-of-9 from the field to score 15 of her game-high 19 points. Freshman Lauren Boyle added 10 points for the Mules.

Dickinson, a game behind Muhlenberg, also clinched a CC playoff berth with its win against Franklin & Marshall.

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