Lourdes closed out its road trip with its second victory in three game on Wednesday evening as the Gray Wolves defeated Northwestern Ohio 59-53 at Racer Gymnasium in Lima, Ohio.
 
"This was a total team win," head coach Karen McConnell said afterwards.  "We had different people spark us at different times.  We did a good job of not turning the ball over much, and one of the big differences in the game was how often we got to the free throw line."
 
The Gray Wolves committed just nine turnovers on the night to offset 36.5% shooting from the floor, allowing the Racers to score just six points off of the miscues.  On the other hand, Lourdes forced 19 Northwestern Ohio turnovers which led to 19 points.
 
Lourdes fell behind early as a 10-0 Racer run allowed the hosts to build a 14-5 lead less than four minutes into the game.  The Gray Wolves cut the deficit to just five, 23-18, at quarter's end, and went on a 9-0 run of their own in the second period to forge ahead 29-25.  Northwestern Ohio answered in the final three minutes with the final eight points of the half though to take a 33-29 lead into the locker room.
 
Coming out of the locker room, Lourdes was able to battle from behind, tying the game at 45 heading into the final 10 minutes of action.  A basket by Molea Thompson (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison H.S.) to start the fourth quarter put the Gray Wolves ahead for good, as Constance Conner (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush H.S.) scored on the next possession.
 
The Gray Wolves led by six, 56-50, with 2:50 to play following a pair of free throws from Jesse Fidler (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold H.S.) before Northwestern Ohio cut the lead in half with a three-pointer at the 1:20 mark.  Conner made one of two free throws with 27.2 seconds remaining and Thompson sealed the victory with two more with 10.1 ticks remaining on the clock.
 
"I think it was critical that we never relinquished the lead in the fourth quarter as we moved down the stretch," McConnell added.
 
Mariah DuPree (Ottawa Lake, Mich./Whiteford H.S.) led Lourdes with 17 points while Fidler added 16.  Thompson had 11 points while Conner chipped in eight and Payton Ramey (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas H.S.) chipped in seven for the Gray Wolves.
 
Stacia Allen led Northwestern Ohio (13-16, 10-11 WHAC) with 15 points while Eboni Adams added 12 more.
 
Lourdes (8-20, 5-16) will look to match the school record for victories in the season on Saturday evening as the Gray Wolves conclude the 2015-2016 season hosting Siena Heights.  Tip-off for the senior night affair is set for 6 p.m. at the Student Health and Activities Center on the campus of Owens Community College.