Jan. 17, 2008

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Freshman Kelly McKeon scored a game-high 22 points and junior Lauren Boyle added 16 as visiting Muhlenberg eased past host Johns Hopkins, 67-52, in Centennial Conference women's basketball action at Goldfarb Gymnasium Thursday night. The win is the sixth straight overall and the fifth straight for the Mules against Johns Hopkins.

The Mules (11-3, 6-1 Centennial) led just 45-41 with 9:27 to play after a three-pointer by Hopkins' Kristin Phillips cut what had been an eight-point lead just moments before in half. Boyle then jump-started a lightening-quick 8-0 run for the Mules with a pair of free throws to push the lead out to 53-41 and the Blue Jays were never closer than eight the rest of the way. McKeon capped the run with a pair of free throws, while Sheila Cook and Michele Feldman added short jumpers to round out the scoring during the surge.

Offensive rebounding kept the Blue Jays (4-8, 2-5) in the game in the first half as they grabbed 18 offensive rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, but still trailed 27-23 at intermission. Hopkins, which out-rebounded the Mules, 35-22 before halftime alone, led 11-10 after a short jumper by junior Jonay Foster, but a free throw by Cook and a three-pointer by McKeon jump-started a 13-4 run for the Mules that gave them a 23-15 lead with 5:50 remaining in the opening half. McKeon scored seven of her 10 first-half points during the spree.

A three-pointer by Leslie Markun and a 10-foot jumper in the lane by freshman Lyndsay Burton trimmed the deficit to 23-20 and the teams combined for just seven points over the final 3:52 of the first half to account for the four-point Muhlenberg lead at intermission.

In addition to McKeon and Boyle's efforts, Muhlenberg got nine points from Cook and hit 17-of-23 from the free throw line to seal the win. The Mules moved the ball well throughout the game with 15 assists on their 24 field goals.

Phillips was the only Johns Hopkins player to reach double figures as she scored a team-high 11 points and added 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Andrea Dodrill added 12 rebounds as the Blue Jays held a 55-40 rebounding advantage.

Johns Hopkins will return to action on Saturday at Swarthmore, while the Mules will play at Franklin & Marshall on Saturday.

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