Box Score
Boxscore
(Carlisle, Pa.) – Dickinson College senior Ashley Kunkle (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) brought some magic from the soccer field to the hardwood as she came off the bench to spark the Red Devil women's basketball team to a thrilling 63-60 win over nationally-ranked Muhlenberg. The Mules were unbeaten and ranked 14th in the latest D3hoops.com national poll.
The Red Devils received strong play from all over the court as a number of different players made key contributions throughout the game. Sophomore Lindsay Finnerty (Tenafly, N.J./Tenafly) drained a three-pointer to put the Devils in front 11-4 early in the contest.
The Mules answered with a 7-0 run to take a 12-11 lead with 13:17 remaining in the half. Dickinson led by just a point at the 7:26 mark before a 12-4 run gave the Devils a 30-20 advantage with 2:32 on the clock. The Red Devils went into the break leading 32-26.
Dickinson hit back-to-back jumpers to open the second half and stretch the margin to 10. Muhlenberg chipped away at the lead and used a 10-2 run to pull in front, 43-42 at the midway point of the second half. The teams would trade leads from that point until a Kunkle three-pointer tied the game, 51-51, with 4:51 remaining in regulation.
The Mules answered a Dana Walsh (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) basket with an Alexandra Chili three-pointer and a Kelly McKeon put-back to lead 58-53 with 2:49 left to play. Finnerty drained her second three-pointer of the night to pull the Devils within a field-goal. Alita Zabrecky scored off an assist from McKeon to give the Mules a 60-56 edge with just over a minute to go.
Senior Alesha Sisco (Effort, Pa./Blair Academy) was fouled and converted a pair of free throws at the 1:09 mark. Taylor Miller (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) made a huge steal on the other end, giving the Devils the ball with 46 seconds remaining, trailing by two, 60-58.
Following a timeout, Miller found Kunkle open for a three-point bomb from the corner, putting the Devils up, 61-60, with 34 seconds left to play. The Devils held on defense, forcing a missed shot to go out of bounds. Sisco was fouled and converted both ends of a one-and-one to give the Devils a 63-60 advantage.
Chili tried to put up a last second three-pointer but senior Annie O'Donnell (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) came up with a big block, just getting a piece of the ball to secure the win for the Red Devils.
Sisco led the Red Devils with 14 points and nine rebounds, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Carole Dempsey (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill) added 12 points while Kunkle finished with 11, hitting two three-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws on the night.
Miller tallied seven points, three assists and three steals while Walsh scored seven points as well, and controlled five rebounds.
Muhlenberg slips to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in the Centennial Conference. The Red Devils improve to 4-6 and 2-4 on the season. Dickinson travels to Bryn Mawr College for a 1:00 tip-off on Saturday.
