Box Score SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Freshman Maggie O'Neil scored a career-high 19 points and senior Katie Lytle notched a double-double to propel the Swarthmore College women's basketball team to a 67-61 Centennial Conference victory over Muhlenberg on Thursday, Jan. 16 at Tarble Pavilion.

After the teams played a seesaw battle with six ties and 10 lead changes in the first half, Swarthmore College never trailed over the final 20 minutes to pull out a key league win.  The Mules, who only trailed 36-34 at the break, tied the game up twice at 36s and 38s before Abbey Deckard canned one of her two 3-pointers to keep the Garnet ahead for good.

O'Neil, who set a career scoring mark in the first half by racking up 14 points, extended the Garnet lead to nine at 52-43 by making a layup at the 12:13 mark while the hosts were in the process of not allowing the Mules to convert a field goal for nearly five minutes.  Junior Elle Larsen sank to free throws to extend the lead to double figures for the first time, 63-53, with 4:23 on the clock and the Mules never came closer than four for the remainder of the contest. Two free throws from Deckard in the waning seconds put the game on ice.

The back-and-forth opening 20 minutes saw neither team take a lead by more than six points. Junior Laura Gregory broke a 24-all deadlock, which was the sixth and final tie of the frame, with a good jumper that was part of a 10-2 Muhlenberg run. But the Garnet, who suddenly found themselves trailing 32-26 with under four minutes left, responded with a 10-2 streak of their own and took a 36-34 lead into the break by getting a trey from O'Neil.

O'Neil netted her 19 points by most notably canning a career-high five 3-pointers to lead Swarthmore to victory. She also had two steals. Lytle contributed 11 points and a game-high 18 boards, while Larsen just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Muhlenberg (7-7, CC 4-4), which shot 0-for-8 from long range in the second half, was paced by junior Leanna Tallamy in the losing effort. The junior racked up 24 points and six rebounds. Senior Leeann Lanza had 14 points and 11 boards.

Swarthmore (8-6, CC 3-5), which has now won four of its last five games, continues Centennial Conference play when it visits Gettysburg on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m.