Women's Basketball Takes Care of Business Against Siena Heights for Tenth Win

(Lansing, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar women's basketball team earned their tenth win of the season Tuesday evening, as they were able to defeat the visiting Siena Heights Saints 67-60 at Gannon Gymnasium.

The two teams traded baskets through the first quarter.  Tied at 10-10, an Amy Jackson layup gave the Cougars the lead.  Siena Heights would tie the game on their next possession, but Cleary would score four consecutive points, when Samantha Hoelscher scored a layup, and after a Saints turnover, Amelia Storm made a jumper to give Cleary a 16-12 lead.  Another Amy Jackson layup extended the lead to six, but the Saints would cut the deficit in half after a late three pointer, giving Cleary a 18-15 lead through ten minutes.

Samantha Hoelscher got things going for the Cougars to start the second quarter with a made layup.  Siena Heights would score six straight points to take the lead before Amy Jackson hit another three to make it 23-21.  After SHU took a 26-23 lead, Jackson answered the call again to tie the game.  After a defensive stop, Izzy Dugal hit a jumper, giving the Cougars the lead once again.  Siena Heights would tie the game, but a Caitlyn Rayl three pointer gave the Cougars a three point advantage once again.  The two teams' offense would stall for almost three minutes, before Amy Jackson broke the drought with another three pointer, to give the Cougars a 34-28 lead.  SHU hit a three just before the halftime horn, and the two teams went into the half with Cleary leading 34-31.

The Saints would open the second half with a made three, and the two teams once again traded points.  Siena Heights would build a six point lead with four minutes to play in the quarter.  An Amelia Storm layup would cut into that deficit.  Trailing by five late in the quarter, Taedom Stein hit a pair of free throws, and would get a stop with five seconds to play.  Samantha Hoelscher would gather the defensive rebound, pass the ball up to Taedom Stein, whose jumper beat the horn, and cut the Saints lead to one point, with Cleary trailing 46-47 with ten minutes to go.

Siena Heights once again built a four point lead in the early in the fourth quarter.  Cleary would draw fouls, and make the Saints pay at the free throw line, and were able to come back to tie the game at 52-52.  Tied 56-56 with 3:37 to play, Amy Jackson hit her fourth three of the game to give the Cougars the lead for good.  After a defensive stop, Samantha Hoelscher made a layup to extend the Cougar lead to five points.  Siena Heights cut that lead to one point with 1:20 to play in the game.  Mileisha Rodriguez would make a layup after an offensive rebound to give Cleary a three point advantage.  The Cougars would get the stop they needed, forcing the Saints to foul, and made their free throws down the stretch to win 67-60.

Cleary was a perfect 12/12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Saints 21-13 in the final ten minutes.  Amy Jackson had a game high 22 points, with 4 made three pointers, to go with 6 rebounds.  Izzy Dugal had 11 points and 4 rebounds off the bench.  Taedom Stein had 10 points and 8 assists, while Samantha Hoelscher had 10 points and 7 rebounds.

The win was Cleary's tenth of the season, and ninth in WHAC play.  The Cougars will conclude their regular season on Saturday, February 22, when they travel to take on the Rochester Christian Warriors for a 1:00 PM game.