Saints Pull Away in Fourth Quarter to Defeat Women's Basketball

(Grand Rapids, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar women's basketball team held a slim lead going into the fourth quarter, but weren't able to hold on, as the Aquinas Saints earned a victory over the Cougars Wednesday evening in Grand Rapids.

Both teams would struggle to get the offensive juices flowing to start the game, but Cleary would figure things out first, as they took an early 4-0 lead on a pair of Mileisha Rodriguez free throws, followed by an Amy Jackson layup.  After Aquinas took the lead at 6-4, Cleary would finish the quarter on a 10-2 run when Amy Jackson hit a shot right before the horn sounded to give the Cougars a 14-6 lead.

Cleary would extend that lead to 8 points after a Taedom Stein layup in the second quarter, their largest lead of the game.  Aquinas would inch their way back into the game, ultimately tying the game, but the Cougars would regain the lead, and went into halftime leading 32-29.  

The third quarter was a slugfest, as the two teams traded leads throughout the quarter, but the Cougars still hung on and led 50-48 with ten minutes to play.  Unfortunately for the Cougars, Aquinas would come out on fire in the fourth quarter, shooting 46%, while Cleary shot 21% in the final ten minutes, and the Saints overtook the Cougars and went on to win by a 71-61 margin.

Taedom Stein and Amy Jackson both led Cleary with 18 points.  Stein would have 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals, while Jackson had 5 rebounds.  Mileisha Rodriguez added 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 steals.

Cleary drops to 4-19 overall, 4-13 in the WHAC.  The Cougars will be back at Gannon Gymnasium this Saturday when they host the Concordia Cardinals in a WHAC contest.  The game is set to begin at 5:30 PM.