Women's Basketball Falls to Saints

(Adrian, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar women's basketball team held a halftime lead, but were unable to maintain the pace, as they fell on the road to the Siena Heights Saints 67-56.

Samantha Hoelscher would kick things off with an and-one on Cleary's first possession to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead.  The Saints would come back to take the lead at 6-5, but a Melanin Holman jumper would give the Cougars back a temporary lead.  The Saints would regain their advantage one possession later, setting up a back and forth rest of the first quarter.  Samantha Hoelscher would make a layup to give Cleary an 11-10 lead.  Siena Heights would then go on an 8-1 run to finish the quarter, as the hosts led 18-12 through one quarter of play.

The run continued for the Saints in the second quarter as they scored on their first possession, building an eight point lead.  Jess Andrew would make a three to stop the bleeding, and cutting the deficit to 20-15.  After a basket by the Saints, Cleary would score six straight, with free throws by Izzy Dugal, and baskets from Jess Andrew and Samantha Hoelscher.  Siena Heights would regain a five point lead with 2:46 left in the half, but Cleary would finish the quarter strong, scoring six unanswered points to take a 27-26 lead heading into the half.  

The two teams continued to battle in the third quarter, with each team making a three to open the scoring.  Each team's defense would make things difficult for the other team, but a three by Siena Heights with just over a minute to play in the quarter would make it a 40-36 game.  Cleary would turn the ball over, and Siena Heights capitalized with another three, and that differential would hold through the end of the quarter, with Cleary trailing 45-38.

Siena Heights would not relinquish their lead in the game, as they had an answer to every Cleary basket.  With just under 5:00 to play, Siena Heights would take a double-digit lead, leading 55-43 with 4:00 to go.  Cleary would fight back late, and were able to cut the Saints' lead to 62-56 with 1:24 to go.  The rally would come up short, however, as the Cleary offense would run out of gas, and Siena Heights made their free throws down the stretch to finish off the game.

Izzy Dugal had a team high 24 points and 11 rebounds.  Samantha Hoelscher would add 10 points and 7 rebounds, while Jess Andrew also had 10 points and 5 rebounds.  

The loss drops Cleary's record to 11-13 overall, 9-9 in the WHAC.  The Cougars will be back at Gannon Gymnasium on Wednesday, February 11, when they host the UNOH Racers for a 5:30 PM game.