The Muhlenberg women's basketball made a late surge but could not climb all the way back and dropped its season opener at Gwynedd Mercy, 69-60.

The Mules were plagued by cold shooting and trailed by 20 points, 40-20, with just over six minutes left in the third quarter. They finally started finding the range after a timeout and cut the gap to 13 by the end of the quarter.

With three minutes left in the fourth, the spread was 10, at 59-49, before three-pointers by seniors Emily Unger and Ava Connolly, sandwiched around a Griffin layup, made it a six-point game. 

After a pair of Gwynedd Mercy free throws, junior Katie McGrath made a three with 40 seconds left to make the score 63-58. The Griffins missed two free throws on their next possession, but the Mules couldn't capitalize, and Gwynedd Mercy made its next four free throws to ice the win.

Freshman Veronica Dawson led four players in double figures with 16 points - the most by a Muhlenberg first-year in her first career game since 2006. Unger finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, while Connolly and McGrath (pictured above) netted 10 points apiece.