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A 31-point fourth-quarter helped Lourdes rally from an 11-point second half deficit to defeat Northwestern Ohio 81-78 on Wednesday evening at the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"I'm really proud of our team's effort tonight," head coach Summer Quesenberry said afterwards.  "We had a much tougher mindset tonight, one of playing with an I will attitude versus an I'll try one."
 
Four players finished in double figures, led by Molea Thompson (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison H.S.), who poured in game-high 22 points.  Thompson also had six steals.  Payton Ramey (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas H.S.) came off the bench to add 15 points and five steals while Jesse Fidler (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold H.S.) scored 14 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.  Elayna Ackerman (Fremont, Ohio/Ross H.S.) chipped in 10 points.
 
After leading early in the game, Lourdes saw the Racers finish the opening quarter on a 16-3 run to take a 21-11 advantage after 10 minutes.  The Gray Wolves responded in the second, holding Northwestern Ohio to just 27% shooting from the floor and used a 9-0 run late in the stanza to retake the lead.  The Racers' Danielle VanDyne made one of her five three-pointers as time expired though to give the guests a 28-27 lead at the break.
 
The third quarter saw 20 fouls whistled between the two sides, but both teams connecting from the charity stripe.  The Racers went 12-of-14 in the period while Lourdes made 10-of-12.  Northwestern Ohio scored the first eight points of the quarter and eventually led by as many as 11, 51-40, with 2:53 to play in the period.  Lourdes was able to pull within eight, 58-50 heading into the fourth.
 
Northwestern Ohio led by 10 with 8:46 to play before seven straight points pulled Lourdes with three just 90 seconds later.  The Gray Wolves maintained within striking distance, taking the lead on back-to-back three-pointers by Ramey, the second giving the Gray Wolves a 70-69 advantage with 3:36 to play.  The lead changed hands three times before being tied at 74 heading into the final 80 seconds.  A Thompson free throw with 1:07 to play put the Gray Wolves in front for good and the junior connected on seven free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
 
Northwestern Ohio shot 46.2% from the floor compared with Lourdes' 35.9% but miscues hindered the Racers' effort.
 
"We played stronger on the ball as well as team defense, forcing 29 turnovers, 23 of which came on steals," Quesenberry added.  "We also took care of the ball with one 12 turnovers tonight."
 
The Gray Wolves capitalized on those 29 Racer turnovers, scoring 32 points to offset a 50-28 edge by Northwestern Ohio on the glass.
 
VanDyne led Northwestern Ohio (10-17, 8-11 WHAC) with 17 points while Shatisha Dukes added 15 more.
 
Lourdes (7-20, 5-14) will close out the home slate on Saturday afternoon, hosting Lawrence Tech.  Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. with Senior Day activities taking place prior to tip-off at the Ebeid Rec Center.