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Women's Basketball Falls in Centennial Conference Semi

Friday, February 22, 2013 - page 2
 

A crazy bounce helped bounce the Muhlenberg women’s basketball team from the Centennial Conference playoffs.

Alita Zabrecky
Zabrecky finished her career sixth on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,234 points.
The Mules were clinging to a 56-55 lead in the final minute when an errant Swarthmore pass headed out of bounds for a turnover. But instead, it hit a referee and caromed back to the court. A Garnet player picked up the loose ball and drove in for a go-ahead layup.

Muhlenberg came up empty on its remaining possessions and Swarthmore added five free throws to win, 62-56, and advance to the CC championship game. The Garnet (20-6) will play host Gettysburg, a 56-43 winner against Johns Hopkins in the other semi.

Julie Kelly
In her first extended action in almost a month, Kelly recorded five points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Mules finished the season with a record of 17-9 and failed to advance to the championship game for the first time since 2007. Three of Muhlenberg’s nine losses came to Swarthmore, with an unfortunate bounce (a banked-in three at the buzzer) also contributing to the second one.

In the final game of her career, senior Alita Zabrecky recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Fellow senior Kate Clawson also went out with a double-figure scoring effort, netting 10 points, while the team’s third senior, Julie Kelly, sparked a late-first-half run.

The game was close throughout, with neither team leading by more than five points until the last few minutes. Muhlenberg trailed 29-24 with less than three minutes left in the half before Kelly converted an offensive rebound into a three-point play, then assisted Clawson on a game-tying jumper.

In the closing seconds of the half, Kelly drove in for a left-handed layup, giving Muhlenberg a 33-31 lead at the break.

Sophomore Hannah Rush, who finished with 10 points, banked in a three from the top of the key early in the second half to put the Mules ahead by three, but Swarthmore came back to tie again.

It was 48-all midway through the second half when the Mules had their best chance to pull away. They held the Garnet to no field goals over a span of more than six minutes and opened up their biggest lead, 56-50, with 3:31 left, but Swarthmore halved the deficit with a three-pointer on the next possession, kicking off a game-closing 12-0 run.

The three seniors closed their careers with a four-year record of 84-27.
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