THE FACTS
Gettysburg (10-3, 7-1 CC) 72, Muhlenberg (8-6, 3-6 CC) 58
What: Centennial Conference (CC) women's basketball game
When: Thursday, January 11
Where: Allentown, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
A tight first half yielded just a one-possession lead for the Bullets over Muhlenberg, which held until the final period where Gettysburg outshot the Mules 25-13 to finish with a 72-58 advantage.
THE LEADERS
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Alayna Arnolie (Vienna, Va./James Madison) led all scorers with 19 points, shooting 50 percent from in and outside the arc.
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Mackenzie Szlosek (Holtsville, N.Y./Satchem East) followed with 18 points. She also grabbed five rebounds.
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AB Holsinger (Crozet, Va./Langley) scored six of her eight points on the night by making three pairs of free throws.
FOR THE FOES
• Ava Connolly put up 13 points to lead the Mules' offense.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• It took almost two minutes for either team to get on the scoreboard. Rachel Saxton struck first for the Mules with a 3-pointer, and she stole the next possession away and made a fast break layup. Baskets by Szlosek and
Shinya Lee (Rochester, N.Y./Holderness Prep) and an Arnolie triple gave Gettysburg the one-possesion edge, but the hosts put together a 9-0 run to double up on the Bullets, 14-7.
Marah McHugh (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) and
Kimberly Hopkins (Baldwin, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) each hit shots in the final two minutes to cut the deficit back to three points at the end of the first stanza.
• The teams traded points into the opening four minutes before
AB Holsinger sunk a 3-pointer to tie the game, 21-all. Two more ties followed before Szlosek scored twice within 19 seconds to give the visitors a four-point lead. An Emily Unger basket made it just two points, but Arnolie made another 3-pointer to gave Gettysburg the one-possession advantage going into the break.
• Gettysburg and Muhlenberg went point-for-point in the third quarter, which saw two more ties. Free throw shooting by McHugh and a jumper by Arnolie gave Gettysburg a one-point lead with 3:11 showing in the quarter, and Connolly and Hopkins traded buckets before an Arnolie buzzer-beater three to again yield a one-possession Bullets lead at the end of the third period.
• Gettysburg did as they have done in the fourth quarter, using multiple different scorers to kick into high gear and create an eight-point lead with 5:20 left to play. The Mules would close within six points twice, and Katie McGrath split a pair at the line to get within five, but that was the smallest the deficit would get for the remainder of the game as the Bullets scored 12 points in the final 1:32, going 12 for 12 at the line to earn the 72-58 win.
THE INSIDE STORY
• Hopkins and McHugh each finished with eight points.
• Gettysburg shot 93.8 percent from the charity stripe, while the Mules sunk just half of their free throws.
UP NEXT
Gettysburg returns to action Saturday against Bryn Mawr. Game time is 1 p.m.
