ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Despite pulling within a possession of a Muhlenberg team that has won three straight Centennial Conferece titles in the fourth quarter, the Lycoming College women's basketball team couldn't get any closer, falling 83-74 in the championship game of the Scotty Wood Tournament on Saturday night, Nov. 18, at Memorial Gym.
 
Sophomore Kayla Kline (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) led the Warriors (2-1 overall) with 22 points, nine rebounds and a block as she earned all-tournament honors along with senior Shelby Mueller (Collegeville, Pa./Spring-Ford), who added 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
Muhlenberg (3-0 overall) shot 43 percent from the floor while Lycoming shot 42 percent (27-of-65) and 63 percent (5-of-8) from 3-point range.
 
After falling behind 60-50 late in the third quarter, the Warriors responded with an 11-4 run to close within a possession at 64-61 with 6:36 left after a strong take to the hoop by Mueller. The Mules' Rachel Plotke ended the run with a second-chance 3-pointer as the clock ticked under six minutes left. The 3-pointer started a 7-1 run and Lycoming was only able to close within two possessions one more time, at 75-69 after a pair of free throws from Mueller with 1:19 left. Plotke hit another 3-pointer to help keep the Warriors out of reach.
 
The Warriors used a run of seven straight points in the first quarter to take a 9-5 lead after a layup from sophomore Hailey Dayton (Reisterstown, Md./St. Timothy's) and extended the lead to as many as six at 18-12 halfway through the quarter. The Mules, however, responded with a 22-6 run over the next eight minutes to take a 34-22 lead with 7:10 left.
 
Lycoming rallied back with a 14-1 run, as Kline led the way with seven points in the run, hitting a layup with 1:19 left to take a 36-35 lead, but the Mules took the lead into the locker room by scoring the last five points in the half. Muhlenberg added an 18-6 run to open the third quarter, taking a 58-42 lead with 4:26 left before the Warriors rallied back into the game with their own 19-6 run to cut within three points with 6:50 left.
 
Sophomore Akilah McFadden (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists and Dayton notched seven points and three rebounds. Freshman Erica Lutz (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) posted six points, three rebounds and two blocks.
 
Plotke led the Mules with 20 points, six 3-pointers and three assists and tournament MVP Brandi Vallely notched a triple-double with 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. All-Tournament team member Chelsea Gary added 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Tuesday, Nov.  21 at 5 p.m. when they face crosstown rival Penn College to kick off a doubleheader at Lamade Gym, with the men facing Susquehanna at 7 p.m.