Jan. 15, 2009

Box Score

ALLENTOWN, PA -- The 23rd-ranked Muhlenberg women's basketball team used a 31-12 run that bridged the first and second halves to pull away from visiting Johns Hopkins and the Mules held off a late-game Blue Jays rally for a 69-59 win Thursday night. The Mules improve to 10-2 overall and 7-0 in the Centennial Conference, while the Blue Jays had their four-game winning streak snapped and slip to 5-8 overall and 3-3 in the Centennial.

The Blue Jays trailed by eight early, but used a 12-3 run to take a 20-19 lead on a Stephanie Fong jumper with seven minutes remaining in the first half. The Blue Jays were still within one at 27-26 after a pair of Fong free throws with 2:40 remaining in the half, but a three-pointer by Alexandra Chili 16 seconds later ignited the game-turning run for the Mules, who would carry a 35-27 lead into intermission.

Any hopes for a Blue Jay comeback were dashed quickly in the second half as a Chili jumper would get the Mules going as they scored 23 of the first 35 points after the break to push out to a 58-38 lead with just under eight minutes remaining. Chili hit a pair of three-pointers during the 12-minute spree, which also included threes by Lauren Boyle and Kaitlyn O'Malley.

The Blue Jays made a late push and sliced the lead to eight with 18 seconds remaining before eventually falling by 10.

The loss spoiled the finest game in the career of Johns Hopkins sophomore Lyndsay Burton, who scored a career-high 26 points and hit 12-of-17 shots from the field. She also added nine rebounds, but the remainder of the team connected on just 11-of-42 shots from the floor and no other player scored more than seven points for the Blue Jays. Hopkins did get a game-high 12 rebounds from senior Kristin Phillips as the Blue Jays held a 40-33 advantage on the glass.

Chili hit five three-pointers and scored a game-high 20 points, while Boyle added 18 points. Muhlenberg's Kelly McKeon just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

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