The Muhlenberg women's basketball team suffered a tough loss in its second-to-last scheduled game when Ursinus hit two free throws with 4.3 seconds left for a 53-52 win.

The Bears (16-8, 13-6) clinched the fourth seed in the upcoming Centennial Conference playoffs and will host a rematch on Tuesday if the Mules (15-9, 11-8) defeat Franklin & Marshall in Saturday's home finale. A Muhlenberg loss and Dickinson win at Washington would give the fifth and final berth to the Red Devils.

Muhlenberg led by 14 (33-19) late in the first half, but Ursinus rallied to tie the score at 35 with 6:32 left in the third quarter. Sophomore Ny Thomas, who scored a team-leading 16 points, hit a three-pointer just 10 seconds later and the Mules built another lead.

Freshman Mikaela McGarvey (13 points) made it 49-42 with 8:57 left in the game by converting a layup off a nifty pass from junior Ashley Polera (pictured above) with the shot clock about to expire. Muhlenberg did not make another field goal for the rest of the game, however.

It was 52-51 when Ursinus inbounded the ball in the backcourt with 7.4 seconds left. The Mules had the play well-defended, and the Bears were having trouble advancing the ball, but the clock did not start. The referees reset the clock to 5.4 seconds and gave the ball to Ursinus in the frontcourt. 

After the foul and successful free throws, the Mules were unable to get off a potential game-winning shot.