Tait Scores 12 Points and Grabs Eight Boards

CHESTERTOWN, MD – Alita Zabrecky scored a game-best 18 points and tallied a game-high steals as #18 Muhlenberg scored a 68-47 victory over host Washington College on Saturday afternoon at the Cain Athletic Center in Centennial Conference women's basketball action.  The Mules improve to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play, while the Shorewomen drop to 3-4 and 1-2 respectively.

Washington led 29-27 entering the second half before Muhlenberg scored the first seven points of the second stanza to take the lead for good as they outscored WC 41-18 in the final 20 minutes.  Leeann Lanza tied the score at 29-29 on a second chance layup with 19:25 left in the second and 31 seconds later Zabrecky canned a three-pointer to put the visitors up for good at 32-29.  Zabrecky capped the 7-0 run with a transition lay-in on a pass from Alexandra Berlin to put Muhlenberg up 34-29.  Following a free throw by junior guard/forward Sally O'Donnell (Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) with 14:01 left to cut the Mules' lead to 41-38, Muhlenberg went on a 18-1 run to take a 59-39 lead with 7:10 to go on a three-pointer by Alexandra Chili.  Four different Muhlenberg players scored during the run.  The Mules led by as many as 25 points at 66-41 on a Berlin fast-break layup with 2:59 remaining in the game.

In the first half, a pair of free throws by freshman guard Claire Mattox (Arlington, VA/Potomac School) gave the Shorewomen a 16-12 lead with 9:28 left.  The Mules answered with seven straight points of their own to grab a 19-16 lead with 7:14 to go in the first on a layup by Erin Laney.  Washington countered with a 11-3 run of its own to lead 27-22 with 4:16 left in the half on a free throw by junior guard Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area).  The five point lead, which WC had twice in the first half, was the largest of the day for the home team.  Muhlenberg scored five unanswered points of its own to knot the score at 27-27 with 11 ticks to go in the first stanza on a free throw by Katy Rossino.  Washington would score the last hoop of the half with six seconds remaining on a layup by freshman forward Liz Warkala (New York, NY/Marymount School) to put the hosts up 29-27 into intermission.

Chili added 14 points for Muhlenberg, nine of which came after halftime, and three steals, while Sheila Cook netted 12 points off the bench on 6-for-11 shooting.  Kathleen Nadaff grabbed a team-high six rebounds, while Rossino dished out a game-best seven assists.  The Mules shot 43% from the floor and 36% from the free throw line and three-point range. 

Tait had 12 points to lead Washington and also grabbed eight rebounds.  Freshman forward Latisha Pledger (Chesapeake, VA/Indian River) grabbed a game-best 13 rebounds, tying her career best.  Freshman guard Kelly Mitchell (Laurel, MD/Academy of the Holy Cross) pilfered a team-best and career-high three steals.  Washington shot just 23% from the floor and 68% from the charity stripe.  The Shorewomen did not hit a three-pointer in 11 tries in the contest.

Muhlenberg held a 49-43 edge in rebounds in the game.  The Mules outscored the Shorewomen in points in the paint (34-18), points off turnovers (17-9), second chance points (13-8), fast-break points (16-2) and bench points (20-11).  Muhlenberg had 21 turnovers, while Washington turned it over 24 times.

Washington returns to action on Wednesday night with a 6:00 p.m. Centennial Conference game at Swarthmore.