Muhlenberg women’s basketball opened the season with a 67-57 victory over the Cabrini University Cavaliers. The Mules were led by Guard Mikaela McGarvey ‘22, who finished with 17 points, 12 of those points came from beyond the arc with four 3’s.
Both forwards Sara Peretti ‘23 and Margaux Eripret ‘22 contributed to the team’s win with Peretti scoring 13 points while Eripret dished out 7 points and 8 rebounds. Three first-years and two sophomores had their first career points, Emily Unger ‘25, Emily Vaughan ‘25, Jenna Stockfeder ‘25, Abigail Scheidel ‘24 and Caroline Horst ‘24.
McGarvey talked about what it was like to step on the court for the first time since February 2020. “It was really exciting to finally play a competitive game again. For some of us, it had almost been two years since we’ve played. I think we did a really good job of channeling any nervous energy we had into the game and it worked out well for us. Everyone contributed something to help us win that game.”
McGarvey is still getting used to new contributors on the team, however she’s excited to play with some new faces. “I’ve really enjoyed having a big roster with a lot of talented underclassmen. Playing against them in practice is great because they challenge us to be better & I think they’re learning a lot which definitely showed in the game. In terms of chemistry, everyone is really supportive of each other in practice and they play with a lot of enthusiasm.”
McGarvey’s philosophy for what the team did well on both sides of the courts: “Offensively, I think we did a great job of communicating and finding the open players. Defensively, we challenged almost every shot and played with a high level of intensity in our press. Moving forward, I think we need to focus on rebounding better and fouling less.”
She also mentioned the overall goals of the season. “As a team, I think our mentality is not just to win, but to win every game by as much as we possibly can. Ultimately, we want to win the Conference Championship and go to the NCAA tournament, and I think we have a great shot at that,” said McGarvey.
The Mules have a fire under them this season, especially since they were unable to reach the NCAA playoffs in the 2019-20 season, snapping a 14 year streak of consecutive appearances. “Not making the playoffs my sophomore year definitely still stings, and I think I can speak for all of the upperclassmen in that we are using it as motivation to not just make playoffs but to win the whole thing this time,” said McGarvey. “We had our chance at that in the 2019/20 season and I think, especially after COVID, taking that next season away from us we aren’t going to take our second chance for granted.”
Since McGarvey is entering her final year in the program, her seniority thrusted her into a leadership role. “In terms of being a leader for my younger teammates, I try to share with them what I’ve learned over the years to help take the pressure off the learning curve after making that jump from the high school to college level. Knowing how disappointing it is to not execute as well as we can is an experience I don’t want them to have, so keeping the energy and intensity up at practice and in games is really important to me. I think every senior does a great job of answering questions and supporting the younger players at their respective positions which just makes the team better as a whole.”
Head Coach Ron Rohn shared what he believed the team did well as well as what they need to improve on. “I liked our competitiveness. We battled very hard whether things were going well or not. Our defense was very solid for this stage of the season, and even when we were in the wrong spot, we hustled hard to recover and make it work. We rebounded well at both ends. Offensively, we were aggressive and played well as a team, but we can definitely get much more efficient and cash in on the opportunities we create better,” he said.
Rohn also noted how the team is gelling despite the influx of new faces. “The team chemistry is very good. We often had brand new players (even our soph[more]s had never played in a college game before) with seniors and they blended nicely. Our young players do a good job of complementing our experienced players, and it bodes well for a successful season ahead. You can see things coming together more and more every day at practice, and that is a compliment to how unselfish this team is, everyone filling their role and trying to make everyone else better.”
After not making the playoffs last season, Rohn expressed what needs to happen in order to get back there. “I think we will be a very good team at some point in the season, I just don’t know when that will happen. Right now we are a pretty good team, who can compete with anyone in the conference. But being a REALLY good team for Muhlenberg women’s basketball, and our history, means being able to win a Conference Championship and playing in the NCAA Tournament. We are not there yet, but we are going to get there.”
The Mules opened in Memorial Hall for their home opener Nov. 16 against DeSales University, after a hard fought contest, they were able to squeeze past the Bulldogs 65-61.
