A strong fourth quarter propelled the Muhlenberg women's basketball to its sixth straight win, 58-45 against Arcadia, in its final game before Thanksgiving break.

The winning streak is the longest for the Mules (6-1) since the 2018-19 team started out 9-0. Arcadia (4-2) came in with a three-game streak of its own, including a 13-point win against Gwynedd Mercy, the only team to have defeated Muhlenberg this season.

The Knights were the preseason favorite to win the MAC Freedom; the Mules have now defeated the top team in the preseason poll for both the MAC Freedom and MAC Commonwealth (York) as well as the second-place team in the MAC Freedom poll (DeSales).

Muhlenberg jumped out to an 11-3 lead to start the game, but neither team led by more than six points in the second and third quarters in the closely contested game. The Knights held their six-point lead at 40-34 with 3:29 left in the third before the Mules scored the final five points of the period and the first two of the fourth to take a 41-40 lead.

Arcadia hit a jumper with 8:44 left to go back in front, 42-41, but was held to only one field goal the rest of the game. Freshman Veronica Dawson knocked a three-pointer on the next possession, kicking off an 11-0 run that gave Muhlenberg control of the game.

Dawson (6), junior Katie McGrath (9) and senior Ava Connolly (4) combined to score all 19 of the Mules' fourth-quarter points. McGrath finished with a career-high 23 points, while Dawson notched her second straight double-double with 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Connolly added 9 points and 3 steals.

Muhlenberg, which entered the game ranked eighth in Division III in field-goal percentage defense, held Arcadia to 24.6-percent shooting, including just 19.4 percent in the second half. The Knights came in 11th in the country in three-pointers per game and did make seven, but in 45 attempts.

pictured above: sophomore Lyndsey Costigan