Lourdes Shocks Women's Basketball After Fourth Quarter Comeback

(Sylvania, OH)-- The Cleary Cougar women's basketball team controlled the game for the first three quarters of game play, but a furious comeback by the Lourdes Gray Wolves sent the Cougars home with a 74-65 defeat Saturday afternoon in Sylvania.

Jess Andrew would score the first five points for Cleary, opening the game with a 5-2 lead for the Cougars.  The two teams traded baskets, and after a defensive stop, Melanin Holman drew a foul, made two free throws, and extended the Cougar lead to 11-6.  After another defensive stop, Izzy Dugal and Jess Andrew scored back to back baskets to make it a 15-6 game at the first media timeout.  The Cougar run wasn't finished, however, as Caitlyn Rayl made two free throws, followed by another Izzy Dugal layup made it a 19-6 lead with 3:37 left in the first quarter of action.  The Gray Wolves would score the next nine points, cutting into the Cleary lead.  Evalyn Cole would stop the bleeding by making a three, and the Cougar lead would go back to seven points.  That's where the lead would remain when the first quarter ended, with Cleary leading 24-17.

Three minutes into the second quarter, Jess Andrew would hit a jumper to give the Cougars a nine point cushion.  The Cleary defense would get a stop, allowing Makenna Jarrat to hit a three on the other end, giving the Cougars a 33-21 lead.  Lourdes would not go away, and went on a 9-2 run to cut the Cleary lead to five points.  A Jess Andrew jumper, followed by a Samantha Hoelscher three pointer gave Cleary a 40-30 lead once again late in the half.  Lourdes would score once more, but Samantha Hoelscher converted the and-one on the other end, sending Cleary into the half with a 43-32 lead.

A pair of Izzy Dugal free throws, and a Jess Andrew three pointer gave Cleary a 48-34 lead early in the second half, their largest of the game.  The two teams would battle it out, but Lourdes was never able to get closer than eight points in the quarter, while Cleary was unable to pull away.  After the ten minutes, neither team gained any ground on the other, and Cleary held a 61-50 lead with ten minutes to go.

Unfortunately for the Cougars, the fourth quarter was all Lourdes.  Within two minutes, the Gray Wolves had cut the Cleary lead to five points.  Less than a minute later, it was a four-point game.  An Evalyn Cole jumper extended the lead back to six points approaching the quarter's media timeout.  The game would take a turn for the worse for Cleary after the media timeout, when Samantha Hoelscher picked up her fifth foul with 4:46 to play.  Lourdes would capitalize on the ensuing possession, making a jumper to make it a four point game once again.  Lourdes cut into that lead with 3:27 left, as they made both of a pair of free throws, and the score would be 63-61.  Jess Andrew would hit a jumper on Cleary's next possession to make it a65-61 game with 3:15 to play.  Unfortunately for Cleary, that would be the final points scored, as Lourdes finished the game on a 13-0 run to take the game 74-65.  When the Gray Wolves made two free throws to take a 66-65 lead, it would be their first lead of the game.  Cleary was outscored 24-4 in the final quarter.

Jess Andrew would lead the Cougar offense with 19 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.  Izzy Dugal would have 14 points and 5 rebounds, while Samantha Hoelscher also had 14 points and 12 rebounds.  

The loss drops Cleary's record to 11-11 overall, and 9-7 in the WHAC.  The Cougars will return home on Wednesday, February 4, when they host the 1st place Indiana Tech Warriors at Gannon Gymnasium.  The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 PM.