HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's basketball team (7-2, 4-0 CC) grabbed a wire-to-wire victory over visiting Muhlenberg (2-7, 0-4 CC) Saturday afternoon at Gooding '84 Arena, taking a 61-38 decision in Centennial Conference action. Junior guard Julianna Clark added a game-high 21 points, while senior guard Anna-Sophia Capizzi poured in 16 of her own. The vaunted Haverford defense again stifled its opposition, holding the Mules to just four points in the final quarter. The Fords head into the winter break undefeated in conference play for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign.
The Fords began the contest on a 5-0 spurt, with Capizzi draining a three to begin the action ahead of a perfectly placed mid-range jumper from Clark. Haverford showcased strong ball movement in the early goings, with Cortlyn Morris finding Caroline Andersen down low for a layup that prompted a Muhlenberg timeout with under five to go in the opening stanza. Capizzi then connected on another shot from beyond the arc, and quickly the run out of the starting gates reached 13-5.
Muhlenberg responded on a tidy 4-1 run of its own to cut the Haverford lead to just six at the end of the quarter, as Haverford headed into the huddle up 14-9. The Fords then unleashed a methodical 14-2 run to take a commanding 28-11 lead with under five minutes left in the first half. Clark connected on back-to-back three-pointers in the stretch for Haverford, leading to a Mules timeout with just 4:50 to go. Clark continued to have the hot hand working, again drilling a three-pointer to put the Fords up by 18 with under three minutes to play. In total, Haverford outscored Muhlenberg 20-8 in the second period, heading into the intermission up comfortably at 34-17.
The threes kept falling for Clark, who set a program record with seven three pointers last week, as she sent in her fifth attempt of the day to put the Fords up 43-24. The lead reached 19 with under five minutes in the stanza. Andersen was fouled while completing a layup, giving Haverford a 21-point lead with under four to play. Muhlenberg responded from that point, jetting out on a 9-2 run to close out the third, with a three-pointer from Emily O'Mahoney bringing the Mules to within just 15 entering the final quarter.
A 5-0 run to begin the fourth gave Haverford a 54-34 advantage, as Capizzi ended a field-goal drought with a crafty layup that came with under eight to play, putting the Fords back up by 18. Capizzi converted again less than a minute later to put the Fords up 20. The Haverford defense frustrated the Mules, limiting options in the paint and forcing tough looks from the perimeter in the final act of the contest.
The margin sat at 20 with under four minutes to play, before a 4-0 stretch for the Mules whittled down that lead slightly. A Furch catch-and-shoot jumper kickstarted a 7-0 run over the final 2:54, as Haverford was able to work in some younger players in the waning moments. First years Kayla Robinson and Kaitlyn Patterson each etched their names in that stat sheet in the final 90 seconds.
Clark was a large part of the defensive effort as well, collecting a career-best three blocks as that unit limited Muhlenberg to just a 1-23 performance from three-point range. Morris had another strong performance off the bench for Haverford, pulling down six rebounds and matching her career high with five assists. The Fords held a slight 41-39 advantage in rebounds, and owned the assists edge on the afternoon by a total of 17-4.
The Fords are now off from competition for the remainder of 2019. Women's Basketball will return to play after the winter holidays, making its 2020 debut on Saturday, January 4 at McDaniel. Game time in Westminster, Md. is slated for 1 p.m.