ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Despite a strong second half, the Swarthmore College women's basketball team fell short of completing its comeback in a 55-47 loss to Muhlenberg College on Saturday. 

Trailing by a game-high 15 points entering the final five minutes of regulation, the Garnet stormed back with a 10-0 run in a hard-fought fourth quarter. Emy Chen stepped up to fuel the team's comeback, scoring seven points in the final quarter and contributing five points during the team's late rally. 

Chen paced the Garnet with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Vianna Kanyamiheto-Watson contributed eight points, while Catherine Chadwell, Carly Murphy and Kaylah Jacques all added seven points in a balanced team effort. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Muhlenberg raced out to a 9-2 opening to start the game. Chadwell then helped slow momentum with a pair of free throws before Samara Diggs added a layup. In the final seconds, Chen helped make the most of a challenging quarter with a bucket to end the stanza. The Mules held a 16-8 advantage at the first intermission. 

- Defense dominated a slow second quarter for both squads. Jacques opened the scoring with a jumper to pull the Garnet within six points. However, Muhlenberg outscored the Garnet 8-3 to enter halftime with a 24-11 edge.  

- Swarthmore chopped away at its deficit with a 9-2 run to open the second half. Chadwell kicked things off with a jumper, while Murphy and Lily Czub both added a pair of points. Kanyamiheto-Watson then capped off the hot start with a three-pointer to shrink the team's deficit back to six points, 26-20. 

- Muhlenberg flipped the script in the latter portion of the third quarter. The home team closed the final four minutes of the quarter on a 12-5 swing to expand its lead back to 13 points. 

- After the Mules expanded its lead to 15 points with 5:04 left in regulation, Chen breathed life into the Garnet to help ignite 10-unanswered points. Jacques contributed to the rally with a three-ball, while Chen closed the stretch with a layup to bring Swarthmore within five points at the 2:37 mark. 

- Despite a late surge from the Garnet, Muhlenberg cashed in at the foul line to preserve its shrinking lead. Swarthmore eventually ran out of runway as they were never able to pull any closer than five points. 

GARNET LEADERS
Points: Chen 10
Rebounds: Richardson 8
Assists: Richardson 3
Steals: Kanyamiheto-Watson 4
Blocks: Richardson 2

UP NEXT
The Garnet (5-13, 2-8) return home against Haverford College on Wednesday.