Turnovers Plague Women's Basketball in Loss at Grace

(Winona Lake, IN)-- The Cleary Cougar women's basketball team made the trek to north-central Indiana to take on the Lancers of Grace College in a non-conference matchup.

Taedom Stein broke down the Lancers' zone on the first possession to give Cleary the early lead, but Grace would answer on their first possession, tying the game.  Grace would see their lead grow to five points, but the Cougars would stick around and stay within striking distance.  Mileisha Rodriguez, Samantha Hoelscher, and Amy Jackson would all knock down layups late in the opening quarter to cut the deficit to two points.  Grace would score the final three points of the quarter, and the Lancers would lead 19-14 after the opening ten minutes.

Cleary would climb back to take the lead in the second quarter, as Amy Jackson knocked down a three, and Rylee Thomas would hit a pair of threes, giving Cleary a 24-22 lead three minutes into the second stanza.  Grace would answer Cleary's run with a run of their own, and had a seven point lead with 2:43 to play in the half.  The two teams would trade points down the stretch, and Cleary would trail 37-30 at the break.

Cleary would cut into the Lancer lead once again, this time cutting the deficit to two points in the early minutes of the second half.  Taedom Stein and Samantha Hoelscher each hit layups, and Amy Jackson hit a three to make the score 41-39 in favor of Grace.  Grace would once again answer Cleary's run with another run of their own, and with two minutes left in the quarter, the deficit would grow to double-digits for the first time.  The Cougars would trail by twelve going into the fourth quarter.

The two teams would trade baskets, and after a Mileisha Rodriguez layup to cut the lead to nine points, Grace would expand their lead to double-digits for good, as the Lancers would would take control of the game and would see out the game, handing Cleary a 79-61 defeat.

The two teams combined for 67 turnovers, with Cleary committing 38 turnovers in the game.  Amy Jackson led Cleary with 16 points with 4 three pointers.  Taedom Stein added 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Samantha Hoelscher would have 10 points and 5 rebounds.  Mileisha Rodriguez chipped in 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Cleary will be back in action on Saturday, December 14, when they travel to Grand Rapids to take on the Golden Eagles of Cornerstone University for a WHAC matchup.  The game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM.