Women's Basketball's Comeback Bid Falls Short to UNOH

(Lansing, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar women's basketball team started slow, digging themselves into a hole before mounting a late comeback, but were unable to get over the hump down the stretch as they fell to the visiting Northwestern Ohio Racers 84-73 Wednesday evening in Lansing.

Amy Jackson would knock down two early threes to give Cleary a 6-0, but the Racers went on a 9-2 run to take the lead.  The two teams would trade points, and Cleary would rebuild a seven point lead after Taedom Stein made a layup with just under five minutes to play in the opening period.  UNOH would finish the quarter strong, scoring the quarter's final twelve points and took a 26-19 lead into the quarter break.  

After drawing a foul, Amelia Storm made both free throws, and then Samantha Hoelscher would hit a jumper, cutting the deficit to three points.  The two teams would once again trade baskets before the Racers went on another quarter-ending run, scoring the final eight points of the half, and led 46-32.

The third quarter was a very balanced ten minutes, as neither team made a large run, and the Cougars would trail by 11 points going into the final ten minutes.  After a Racer three pointer, Taedom Stein hit a layup, followed by a pair of Mileisha Rodriguez free throws to get the deficit back to single digits.  Stein would knock down a three, and Amy Jackson would hit a pair of free throws of her own, and the deficit would be five points with five minutes to play.  Cleary would get no closer, as the Racers would go on to expand their lead and win 84-73.

Mileisha Rodriguez posted her second straight double-double with 17 points an d11 rebounds to lead the Cougars.  Taedom Stein would add 16 points and 5 rebounds, while Amy Jackson had 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals.  Samantha Hoelscher added 10 points and 2 steals to round out the double-digit scorers for the Cougars.

Cleary is now 2-7 overall, 1-2 in the WHAC.  The Cougars will be back at home on Saturday, December 7, when they host the Concordia Cardinals for a WHAC battle.  The game is set to begin at 5:30 PM.