SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Swarthmore College women's basketball team snapped a four-game slide and earned its first Centennial Conference win of the season with a 56-52 victory versus Muhlenberg College on Wednesday night.
The Garnet used a 16-0 run to build a 12-point lead in the opening quarter. The Mules outscored Swarthmore in the second period to close the gap to five (30-25) at the break. Muhlenberg dominated the third, besting the Garnet 11-2 to take a four-point cushion into the final frame. Swarthmore then bounced back to post its best quarter of the contest, putting up 24 points to rally for the win.
Catherine Chadwell willed the Garnet to triumph, scoring a team-high 18 points with 11 coming in the fourth. It was her seventh straight double-digit performance.
Vianna Kanyamiheto-Watson tallied 13 points while
Carly Murphy added nine. Murphy and
Raven Richardson each grabbed seven rebounds to lead the squad.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Mules scored the first four points of the game before Swarthmore went off for 16 unanswered points to go ahead 16-4 with 55 seconds left in the opening stanza. Four different players contributed to the run as the Garnet shot 6-of-13 with a pair of threes while holding Muhlenberg scoreless over 10 field goal attempts. The Mules ended their drought with a layup to trail 16-6 entering the second.
- Muhlenberg caught fire to start the second, pouring in 16 of the first 20 points to rally for a 22-20 lead with 2:46 on the clock. The visitors shot 7-of-13 with two makes from beyond the arc during the stretch while limiting Swarthmore to just 2-of-13 from the field. The Garnet responded with a 10-2 surge to regain the upper hand, 30-24, with nine seconds remaining. Kanyamiheto-Watson led the run with five points as Swarthmore was 4-for-5 shooting. A late foul shot by the Mules made it 30-25 at the intermission.
- Both sides struggled offensively in the third, combining for just two field goals. Muhlenberg won the period, 11-2, and carried a 36-32 edge into the final quarter. After the Mules opened the fourth with a layup, the Garnet exploded for a 16-3 surge to come back and take a 48-41 advantage with 3:16 to go. Chadwell tallied 11 of the 16 points as Swarthmore shot 7-of-11 during the run.
- Muhlenberg answered with back-to-back threes to cut the deficit to one (48-47) with 2:14 left. The Mules had a chance to take the lead but Kanyamiheto-Watson stole the ball and scored a fastbreak layup to put the Garnet up three (50-47) with 1:08 remaining. Muhlenberg then made just two of its final five shots and Swarthmore went 6-for-7 at the foul line to ice the victory.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Chadwell 18
Rebounds: Murphy, Richardson 8
Assists: Three players 2
Blocks: Chadwell 2
Steals: Three players 3
Threes: Chadwell,
Lily Czub 2
UP NEXT
The Garnet (4-9, 1-4 Centennial) head to McDaniel College on Saturday.
