Jan. 25, 2014

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Junior Leanna Tallamy scored 16 points, including 10 in the second half, as Muhlenberg held on to win 58-54 Saturday afternoon and hand Hopkins its first conference loss of the season. Despite being down 12 points at half, the Blue Jays rallied in the second to tie the game and took a one-point lead with 4:22 remaining. The Muhlenberg defense was tough down the stretch, and made their final eight free throws to seal the victory. Sophomore Katie Clark led the Jays in scoring for the fifth straight game, posting a game-high 17 points while adding two assists. Muhlenberg moves to 10-7 (7-4 CC) on the season with the victory, while Hopkins drops to 12-4 (10-1 CC).

The Blue Jays had to play from behind early, as the Mules got off to a hot start hitting their first five three pointers in the opening half. Junior Hannah Rush's three pointer with 13:53 remaining gave Muhlenberg a 11-4 lead, before the Jays came storming back. Hopkins went on an 8-1 run starting at the 13:36 mark, on four foul shots and a pair of jumpers from juniors Stacey Fairey and Haley Bush to tie the game at 12. Hopkins then went cold once again, as Muhlenberg responded with a 11-2 run of their own, culminating with a three pointer from junior Abby Stenger to go up 23-14. Muhlenberg continued to build on its first half lead in the closing minutes, scoring the final five points to take a 31-19 lead into the locker room.

A different Hopkins team emerged at the start of the second, as the Blue Jays went to work cutting into their 12-point deficit. JHU opened the half with a 12-0 run, with eight points coming from Clark as she hit her team's first three pointers of the game. With the game tied, Muhlenberg finally got on the scoreboard in the second thanks to consecutive layups from junior Hannah Rush and Tallamy. Another three from Alyssa Fleming with 15:39 remaining cut the Muhlenberg lead to one, but Hopkins couldn't quite get over the hump over the next several minutes as they trailed late into the contest.

At the 4:22 mark the Blue Jays tied the game once again on a fast break layup from senior Fatu Conteh, and had the opportunity to go ahead after Stenger commited a foul on the play. Conteh completed the three-point after hitting the free throw and gave her team its first lead since 19:08 mark in the first half.

The Jays weren't up for long, as Tallamy put away a tough layup a minute later to go back up by one. The teams traded point, before Muhlenberg went up three with 1:37 remaining after another Tallamy layup. Clark responded with a big-time three at the other end, tying the game once again 52-52 with 1:10 remaining. Muhlenberg kept its composure in the game's final minute, as Laney and Stenger made Hopkins pay for fouls by converting their free throws. The Jays could not respond on offense, and two free throws from Rush sealed the deal as the Mules earned the 58-54 victory.

Today's 54 points was the lowest total for Hopkins in any game this season, as was the team's 30.6 shooting percentage from the field. Turnovers plagued both teams throughout the game, as the Jays committed 21; their most since giving away 25 versus Emory on January 4.

Hopkins will be back in action on January 28, when the team travels to play McDaniel for the first time this season.

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