Lourdes University Athletics

Lourdes opened up action at the Union College Classic on Friday evening, falling 91-70 to the hosts Bulldogs at Robsion Arena in Barbourville, Ky.
 
Jesse Fidler (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold H.S.) led Lourdes with 16 points and seven rebounds, making 7-of-12 shots from the floor.  Daja Whiteside (Auburn Hills, Mich./Avondale H.S.) added 13 points while Elayna Ackerman (Fremont, Ohio/Ross H.S.) chipped in 10 points. 
 
"Our players did a good job of focusing on the controllables tonight," head coach Summer Quesenberry said after the game.  "It was a much better commitment to playing Lourdes basketball.  I saw growth with the team, as the offense started to gel.  We still had too many turnovers, but they were aggressive ones tonight as opposed to unforced ones.  Our defense still needs to grow though."
 
Lourdes led 10-9 midway through the first quarter before the Bulldogs finished the period on a 10-1 run.  The Gray Wolves pulled within two after scoring the first six points of the second quarter, and were still within three, 26-23, with five minutes to play before intermission.  Union went on a late run, scoring the last seven points of the half to build a 43-30 advantage at halftime.
 
Union scored the first six points out of the locker room to increase the lead to 19, and led by as many as 20 in the third quarter before taking a 67-50 advantage into the final stanza.  Lourdes was never able to get the deficit below 14, 75-61, during the final 10 minutes.
 
Maci Spence led Union (3-0) with 32 points, making 10-of-14 from the floor and 12-of-13 from the free throw line.  Dannika Prater added 12 points for the Bulldogs.
 
Lourdes outrebounded Union 47-39, but committed 22 turnovers to the Bulldogs' 13 and the hosts went to the free throw line 43 times, making 33, while the Gray Wolves shot just 14-of-24 from the charity stripe.
 
"We did really well rebounding today which was another positive," Quesenberry added.
 
Lourdes (0-4) will close out play at the Union College Classic on Saturday as the Gray Wolves face 24^th-ranked Milligan.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at Robsion Arena.