Leanna Tallamy, Muhlenberg
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The heart of conference play is a grind, and usually involves
hard-fought games where a team needs to dig in and get stops on
defense in order to pull out a win.
A conference game is exactly how one would describe Muhlenberg's 50-31 win over Johns Hopkins in women's basketball. It was a hard-fought, late-January, Centennial Conference win where Muhlenberg's defense shined and the seniors stepped up as the team heads towards the stretch run.
The Mules' defense was outstanding, holding the Blue Jays (11-6, 8-3 CC) to 13-for-55 shooting (23.6 percent) from the field while causing 20 turnovers. The 31 points were the fewest allowed by Muhlenberg in a CC game in nine years.
"I think that was the best defense we've played the entire season. We've been waiting for this game since we lost to them earlier this year," senior wing Laura Gregory said.
That loss to Hopkins came by 17 points back on December 6, and was just the continuation of fierce rivalry that's developed between the two teams. When this group of Mule seniors were freshmen, they were downed by Hopkins twice before defeating them to win the Centennial Conference. Those memories, and specifically the loss earlier this year, have remained fresh in the minds of Gregory and her classmates, adding to the importance of the team's eighth straight win.
"We've got seven seniors and seven captains that have been looking forward to this season. We came out in 2014 and lost two games and we were really upset about it. Once we lost to that Hopkins team we knew we had to come back in the new year and work as hard as we could," Gregory said.
Muhlenberg (11-5, 10-2 CC) jumped out to leads of 6-0 and 13-2 early, and led by 10 at the half, 23-13. A 10-0 late in the second half on points from Leanna Tallamy and Gregory put the Mules up 20 and put the icing on the win.
This may seem repetitive, but Tallamy (pictured above) again had a double-double, the senior forward's 11th straight. Tallamy got her 10th rebound by diving a loose ball with 13:44 to go and finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Gregory joined her in the double-double club, with 14 points and 11 rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting.
"All of us can get a double-double on any given day, but the reason why this team is on such a roll is because we're all working together and knowing who can do what," Gregory said.
Senior point guard Hannah Rush controlled the game on both ends. She netted 10 points and grabbed six rebounds, but her four steals and three assists to one turnover were equally key in helping Muhlenberg stay hot. With Gregory and senior Nicole Pepe (eight points, four steals) buzzing up the wings with endless energy, Rush can be the calming influence that helps the offense run more fluidly.
"All the energy that me and Pepe bring running up and down the court, she sometimes calms us down so that we can just focus on what plays to run," Gregory said.
A player like Gregory would be expected to bring energy to her team when they get down, and while that is true, it's also true that the team is what provides her with her energy.
"I love this team and I love playing with these girls so I want to go out there with as much energy as I can. I am so happy to be playing on this team and I just want to do it for them."