A gritty performance by the Lourdes women's basketball team fell just short on Monday evening as the Gray Wolves dropped a heartbreaking 72-71 loss at the hands of Ohio Christian at the Maxwell Center.
"Losing a game is always tough," said head coach
John Kenger following the contest. "But dropping a game like this is a different type of hurt. I'm so proud of this team for never giving up. I'm blessed to be able to work with these girls. We will get stronger from this."
Lourdes held a 71-69 advantage with 18 seconds remaining in the contest but Ohio Christian's (1-3 overall) Staci Dinsmore was the hero of the evening as she hit a game-winning three pointer as time expired to propel the hosts to a 72-71 victory.
The first half proved to be a back-and-forth battle as the two teams entered the intermission locked at 37-37. Ohio Christian saw its lead blossom to nine points in the first quarter, but the Gray Wolves fought back to hold a 22-20 advantage after one quarter.
After being outscored 21-15 in the third quarter and trailing 58-52 heading into the final period, the Gray Wolves fought back to take a 69-68 lead with 1:09 remaining in the contest following a jumper from
Christiana Jefferson (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame/Ursuline).
Jefferson would make two more free throws in the final minute, but the Trailblazers were able to pull away to claim the victory.
Ramiah Henry (Toledo, Ohio/Waite/Southern Arkansas) led the way for the Gray Wolves, pouring in a team-high 14 points and pulling down eight rebounds.
Sydney Miller (Huntsville, Ohio/Indian Lake/Edison State CC) and
Jami Hardy (Perrysburg, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch) each added nine points for Lourdes.
The Gray Wolves shot 28-of-66 (42.4 percent) from the field, while OCU finished 21-of-65 (32.3 percent) from the field.
Lourdes (1-2 overall) returns to action tomorrow evening and opens the home portion of its schedule as it hosts Wright State-Lake at 5 p.m. in part of a double header with the men's basketball team at the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
