ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Muhlenberg College Women's Basketball held a narrow three-point lead in the third quarter of Saturday's game against Swarthmore College. Then its No. 1-ranked defense in the nation at 40.1 points allowed per game kicked in, and the Mules beat the Garnet 55-33.

The Mules, undefeated at 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Centennial Conference, jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game. Freshman guard Kim Kockenmeister made the first field goal for the Garnet (2-7, 1-5) on a three-pointer with 4:18 left in the first quarter. Swarthmore came within three points of Muhlenberg 2:51 into the second half. That layup by senior forward Audra Woodside assisted by freshman forward Erin Cronin made the score 30-27. However, the Mules outscored the Garnet 25-6 over the rest of the game.

Muhlenberg has outscored its opponents by 21.5 on average this season. Receiving votes in the Division III national poll that was released Friday, the Mules held the Garnet to 21.4 percent shooting from the floor and 13.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Woodside led Swarthmore with 10 points while junior forward Abigail Pirron and sophomore guard Faith Nation chipped in with seven each. Pirron added a season-high nine rebounds, the most of any player in the game on Saturday.

Swarthmore travels for its third-straight road contest on Tuesday at 6 p.m. to take on a tough Widener University team with a 9-1 record.