Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
For the second straight game at Tarble Pavillion, the Swarthmore Garnet women’s basketball team (7-10, 4-8 CC) had the chance to knock off a ranked opponent. But, after trailing the 12th-ranked Muhlenberg Mules (13-2, 10-1 CC) by just six points at halftime, the Garnet fell 69-54, dropping to 0-13 all-time against ranked opponents.
Just two days after losing a heartbreaker to the Gettysburg Bullets after leading by 11 points in the second half, the Garnet came out firing, as Genny Pezzola ’11 came off the bench and quickly drained two threes and took a charge on defense. She ended the evening with 11 points, her third straight game in double figures.
Alexandra Chili ’12 of Muhlenberg continued her streak of strong performances, helping to put the Mules up 36-30 at halftime. Chili, the reigning Centennial Conference player of the week, drained five three-pointers of her own and led the Mules with 16 points. In her two previous games, she averaged 20 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists.
Swarthmore opened the second half with a basket, cutting the Muhlenberg lead to just four points. However, the Mules responded with a 12-0 run to put the game out of reach and led by double digits for the rest of the game.
Sheila Cook ’11 and Kelly McKeon ’11 also scored in double digits for the Mules, tallying 15 points and 14 points respectively. McKeon filled the stat-sheets, adding eight rebounds and five assists.
Kathryn Stockbower ‘11 carried the Garnet all evening. She scored 16 points, the only Garnet player other than Pezzola in double figures. Stockbower added 16 rebounds, recording her eighth consecutive double-double and the 57th of her career. Entering the contest, Stockbower was sixth in Division III in rebounding and 20th in scoring.
Having led the Garnet in scoring over their previous two games, Ceylon Bodur ’11 was held in check all evening, though she finished fourth on the team in scoring with six points, and added four rebounds. Madeline Ross ’13 tallied eight points of her own off of the bench.
On the plus side, Garnet improved their ball-handling against the defending Centennial Conference champions. After committing 31 turnovers against Gettysburg on Saturday, the Garnet turned the ball over just 14 times against the Mules. But, after shooting over 30% from behind the arc against Gettysburg, the Garnet were just 4-18 (22%) against the Mules.
Swarthmore returns to action on Wednesday night against the Bryn Mawr Owls, with the match to be played at Haverford College. They continue their brief two-game road trip on Saturday at Franklin and Marshall. Action from Lancaster will be broadcasted on the Garnet Sports Network.