Women’s Basketball Falls in Overtime at Lourdes, 65-62

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SYLVANIA, Ohio — Northwest Ohio was treated to free basketball Wednesday (Feb. 11) as the Marygrove women’s cagers and the Lourdes Gray Wolves couldn’t settle the score in regulation inside the Tam-O-Shanter Center in Sylvania. After holding a lead with less than a minute to play in overtime, the Mustangs faltered down the stretch as the Gray Wolves went on to win the thrilling WHAC contest, 65-62.

The loss drops the Mustangs to 4-23 overall and 2-17 in conference play. The Gray Wolves move to 8-19 overall and 4-15 in WHAC action with three games remaining on the 2014-15 slate.

The Gray Wolves started the game on a 5-0 run over the opening 1:32 of play behind four points from Emily Orsini. Sophomore forward Kierra Jordan (Westland, Mich./John Glenn High School) got the Mustangs on the board with a layup on the next possession to help the Green and Gold pull within three, 5-2, with 18:12 remaining in the first half.

Jordan’s bucket ignited a 9-3 run over the next four minutes, forcing the Gray Wolves to call a timeout with 14:35 left on the frozen first-half clock. Theresa Dray (Davison, Mich./Davison High School) connected on a jumper just outside the paint seconds later to put Mustangs in front by three, 11-8, elevating the Green and Gold’s run to 11-3 after the Gray Wolves jumped ahead early.

The Gray Wolves answered, rattling off 17 of the game’s next 29 points to take a 25-20 lead with seven minutes remaining in the opening stanza. The five-point Gray Wolves’ lead marked the largest of the half for either team as the hosts went into the halftime break up two, 33-31, over a Mustangs team that shot a season-high 52-percent in the first half.

The 52-percent effort marked a season-best in either half for second-year head coach Craig Covington and the Mustangs. Jordan led the Mustangs with 10 points while junior guard Tiffany Bradford (Detroit, Mich./Dakota College) chipped in with eight points over the game’s opening 20 minutes.

Despite the strong shooting first half, the Mustangs missed a chance to pull away early after coughing up 14 turnovers to create a 13-3 advantage for the Gray Wolves in the points off turnovers department.

Both teams traded baskets to open a defensive-minded second half as the Gray Wolves held firm to a narrow 41-39 lead 11 minutes into the latter stanza. Bradford gave the Mustangs their first lead of the second half by connecting on her third triple of the game to lift the Green and Gold to a 42-41 lead with 8:54 remaining.

A 45-45 tie with four minutes remaining was broken open by the Mustangs’ Jamierson as the senior drained a key three-pointer with 3:15 remaining, forcing the Gray Wolves to call a full timeout seconds later with the Green and Gold clinging to a 48-45 lead. A Weaver steal led to a fast-break layup, lifting the Mustangs lead to 52-47 before the Gray Wolves’ Lauren Tilden connected on an open three to cut the Mustangs lead to 52-50 with 1:53 on the game clock.

The Gray Wolves tied it up, 52-52, with 1:18 remaining on a Jessica Durr layup – a score that would hold through the end of regulation as the conference thriller headed into overtime.

The first four points of overtime would go to the Gray Wolves, but the Mustangs answered with five straight of their own to take a 57-56 lead midway through the extra frame after Bradford connected from three-point territory. The junior guard wasn’t done as she found the bottom of the net on a three from the top of the key to give the Mustangs a narrow 61-60 lead with 50 seconds left. The dramatic three put the Mustangs in line for a road victory, but this time the Gray Wolves answered by tallying five consecutive points to win in overtime, 65-62.

Bradford led all scorers with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from downtown while adding a career-high nine rebounds. Jordan posted her first double-double of the season by pouring in 16 points and corralling a game-high 10 rebounds. Jamierson posted 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds to round out the Mustangs effort Wednesday evening.

Jesse Fidler and Tilden led the Gray Wolves with 16 points each.

The Mustangs host Cornerstone Saturday (Feb. 14) at 1 p.m. The Mustang Sports Network will stream the game via live video on marygrovemustangs.com/live beginning at 12:50 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CONTACT: Tim Johnston | @tjohnston56
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