HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's basketball team (17-6, 13-5 CC) clinched a 10th consecutive trip to the Centennial Conference tournament with a resounding 65-36 victory over visiting Muhlenberg (9-11, 5-10 CC) on Wednesday evening inside Gooding '84 Arena. The Fords swept the season series with the Mules thanks in part to a career-best 29 points from Ally Landau. Landau became the first Haverford player to reach 29 points since Anna-Sophia Capizzi did so during January of the 2019-20 season.
Cortlyn Morris added a double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds) while Caroline Andersen was again a force off the bench with 10 points and three rebounds. Kayla Robinson pulled down a game-best 13 boards in another dominating effort on the glass.
The Fords began the contest on a bit of a sluggish start to the field, but quickly turned on the jets to erase what was an early 12-6 Muhlenberg advantage. Landau converted with 5:51 left in the first half to pull the Fords within two, and Morris then tied the score at 21-21 with 5:31 to play. Muhlenberg had designs on staying right in the contest, down just three at the half even following a buzzer-beater from Gia Flamini that fired up the bench heading into intermission.
The second half was Haverford's chance to shine, quickly turning that three-point cushion into a sizable 10 point lead in just the first four minutes of action. Landau converted a layup with 6:48 to go in the third, and the Fords kept the pressure on from there, with Landau doing much of the work on the offensive end, quickly filling up the scoresheet for the hosts. The sophomore notched a trey with 3:14 remaining in the stanza as the lead hit 13, and again connected from deep in the final minute of the third for a 48-34 Haverford lead.
In the fourth, Landau again connected twice in the opening moments as the floodgates opened for the Fords. Suddenly up by 20 following a pair of Andersen free throws, the Fords kept the intensity up with Summer Ryan drilling a layup to put a bow on things at 61-36 with 3:59 remaining. Muhlenberg scored just 10 points in the second half as the Haverford defense smothered chance after chance for the Mules. The perimeter guarding for the Fords was a strength, as the visitors could muster only three triples on 19 attempts from beyond the arc, shutting down a unit where the Mules had considerable depth.
The Fords turned the ball over just nine times, and forced 19 turnovers from the visitors, scoring 19 points off those miscues while also holding a 46-37 advantage on the glass. The Fords swept the season series against the Mules for the second consecutive season.
Haverford will now return to action on Saturday, with a showdown on the docket against No. 25 Gettysburg as the race for Centennial Conference tournament seeding now heats up. The contest, a rematch of the last three Centennial Conference championship games, is slated for 1 p.m.