Lourdes trailed by 18 points with under seven minutes to play on Tuesday evening, but rallied to take a one-point lead, only to eventually fall 55-54 to Mount Vernon Nazarene at Tam-o-Shanter.
 
"I was pleased with the way we fought back and gave ourselves a chance to win," head coach Karen McConnell said afterwards.  "At the same time I'm frustrated we were so flat in the first half.  We had no movement and made it easy for Mount Vernon to conserve energy."
 
Trailing by 18, Lindsey Motycka (Convoy, Ohio/Crestview H.S.) started the rally with a three-point play, but Lourdes still trailed by 13 with 3:45 to play.  A 16-2 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes allowed the Gray Wolves to take their first lead since 2-0.   Back-to-back triples by Motycka and five points from Jesse Fidler (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold H.S.) made it a one-point game before Andrea Hodge's (Westerville, Ohio/Central H.S.) gave Lourdes a 51-50 advantage with 1:04 to play.
 
"We got a lot of contributions from our freshmen and newcomers," McConnell added.  "Motycka hit a couple of big shots for us."
 
Mount Vernon Nazarene split free throws with 59 seconds remaining and the Cougars took the lead with a pair of free throws by Rachel Parks following a steal.  After a Lourdes miss, Cassidy Cain made two free throws which proved to be insurance as Niki Meyer (Liberty Center, Ohio/Liberty Center H.S.) drained one last three with two seconds left for the game's final margin.
 
The Cougars led 13-6 after the opening quarter and extended their lead to 20, 32-12, spurred by a 17-4 run.  Lourdes shot just 23.8% from the floor in the first half, including a 0-for-7 mark from long range, while committing 11 turnovers.
 
Lourdes trailed by as many as 22 in the third quarter before closing to within 16, 42-26, heading into the final frame.
 
Fidler led Lourdes with 13 points, six rebounds, and seven steals while Motycka and Sara Pribonic (Johnstown, Ohio/Northridge H.S.) added 12 points each.  Motycka scored 11 of her 12 points in the final seven minutes.
 
Megan Beidelman led Mount Vernon Nazarene (4-0) with 13 points and 15 rebounds while Sierra Basista added 12 points and Natalie Carpenter chipped in 10 more.
 
Lourdes (2-2) will open Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon, entertaining Cornerstone.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at Tam-o-Shanter.