BRYN MAWR, Pa. – The Owls basketball team continued their busy stretch earlier Monday evening with a home showdown against Muhlenberg, and there were once again plenty of bright spots on the night for Bryn Mawr. The Owls stormed back from a tough start to put together an impressive second half against the Mules, ultimately outscoring the visitors 36-23 over the final two quarters. Hannah Binder led all scorers in the contest with 13 points for the Owls, while Aliya Stubenbord and Sydney Collins each hit double-digits as well. The Mules got 12 points from Abigail Scheidel and another 11 from Emily Unger en route to a 71-51 win on the evening.

Ella Kotsen got the Owls off to a good start with the first basket of the game a couple minutes into the contest, but Muhlenberg would go on a 12-point run from there to take the advantage. Kotsen helped Bryn Mawr get back on the board to stop that run, making a nice pass to Collins for a jumper to double the Owls' scoring. She would then add a free throw later in the period before Stubenbord sliced through the Mules defense for a layup with just seconds to go in the quarter, making it a 19-7 contest in favor of the visitors at the first break.

Binder and Sonja Meijer nailed a couple of jumpers early in the second quarter, but an offensive explosion from the Mules was the story of the period. The visitors shot 52% from the floor and put up 29 points in the second quarter alone. In fact, Scheidel did all of her scoring in the game in just the second quarter, as she went five-for-five in five minutes of action in the frame, including back-to-back three pointers late. Binder would make a free throw midway through the half for the Owls, and Stubenbord buried a late three of her own, but the damage had already been done and the Mules took a 48-15 lead to the halftime break.

However, that brief respite seemed to be just what the Owls needed, as the second half was a completely different story. Muhlenberg stayed hot to start the third quarter, but Bryn Mawr started to chip away a few minutes in thanks to a basket from Collins. She would later make a pair of free throws, something that would become a theme for the rest of the contest. Overall, Bryn Mawr cashed in eleven free throws in the second half. Stubenbord, Bianca Carrizal, and Meijer each hit free throws of their own in the third quarter, and Alana Mora-Mickens added a banked-in three-pointer, and when the horn blew to end the period, Bryn Mawr had only been outscored 15-12 in the frame.

The fourth quarter continued that trend, starting with a made jumper from Binder and a deep three-ball from Stubenbord on back-to-back possessions early in the period. The Owls finally started to shut things down on the defensive glass, and that is where they ended up earning several more trips to the free throw line. Muhlenberg fouled early and often in the quarter as they tried to crash the glass, and that led to made free throws from Stubenbord, Binder, and Hallie Kern throughout the frame. The Mules also weren't afraid to keep launching in the quarter, but some strong Bryn Mawr defense kept the shots from falling. The Owls held the visitors to a woeful 2-for-25 from the field in the final quarter, and ultimately the Mules would score just eight points in the frame. On the other end, the Owls were finding buckets easier and easier to come by, with Binder, Meijer, and Collins all knocking down shots throughout the frame.

With the game well in hand and the Mules with the ball and the shot clock off, the visitors decided to knock down one more three-pointer in the final seconds, but that led to one more overwhelmingly bright spot for the Owls. With just a few seconds left in the contest and the Owls two points shy of breaking 50, Hallie Kern ended up with the ball in her hands pushing into the frontcourt. With her teammates and coaches yelling for a shot before the buzzer, Kern launched a deep three right in front of her own bench. The ball swooped straight through the net just as the horn sounded, sparking a fun celebration for the Owls to close out the contest.

The 51 points for the Owls was the most they've scored in a game since their 74-67 win over Trinity back in November. The 20-point margin of today's contest is the lowest in a Centennial Conference game since the team's 62-55 loss against Haverford back in January of 2020, and the Owls' 24-point fourth quarter was their most points in a single period since their 79-16 thumping of Trinity on January 15, 2020. Tonight is also the first time the Owls have had three players each score 10 points or more in a game since that same win over Trinity two years ago, and it's the first time that the Owls have accomplished that same feat in a Centennial Conference game since February 7, 2019.

Bryn Mawr will look to keep the positive momentum rolling tomorrow night as they play their second game in just as many days. The Owls will close out this current four-game homestand by hosting Dickinson on Tuesday evening, with gametime once again set for 7:00 PM in the Class of 1958 Gymnasium.