The Lourdes women's basketball team kept Siena Heights at bay in the first half, but the second half proved costly as the Gray Wolves fell 73-49 at the SHU Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening.
 
"We need to get better on the boards," said head coach John Kenger following the contest. "We got in some early foul trouble and I think they did a good job of taking advantage of that. We just need to continue to work hard and this will start to come together."
 
The Gray Wolves found themselves playing from behind early on as Siena Heights (9-2, 5-2 WHAC) raced out to an early 9-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest. Christiana Jefferson (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame) found Sara Semler (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer) who buried a three-pointer out of a Gray Wolf timeout to cut the lead to 9-3.
 
After the Saints scored the next four points, Jami Hardy (Perrysburg, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch) nailed a three-pointer to spark a 10-2 run to close the quarter for Lourdes, as it pulled within 15-13 at the end of one quarter.
 
Lourdes opened the second quarter with a quick 5-0 run capped off by a Jefferson and-one to grab an 18-15 lead with 8:41 left in the first half.
 
A Mirandia Green (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer) three-pointer helped Lourdes pull within 29-25 after it surrendered its second quarter lead, but the hosts closed the quarter on an 11-4 run to take a 34-26 lead into the intermission.
 
Siena Heights slowly added to its lead in the second half, stretching the lead to as many as 71-43 late in the fourth quarter. The Saints were able to hold on and close out the 73-48 victory.
 
Hardy led the way offensively for the Gray Wolves, tallying 11 points, while Jefferson added 10 points.
Keyvona Davis (Columbus, Ohio/South) and Ramiah Henry (Toledo, Ohio/Waite) each pulled down a team-best five rebounds.
 
Demi Russell netted 19 points to lead the way for Siena Heights.
 
Lourdes finished 15-of-54 (27.8%) from the field, including 5-of-23 (21.7%) from three-point range, while Siena Heights shot 26-of-60 (43.4%) from the field and 2-of-12 (16.7%) from beyond the arc. The hosts won the rebounding battle by a 44-33 margin and outscored Lourdes in the paint by a 48-12 tally.
 
The Gray Wolves (5-6, 2-3) will return to action on Saturday afternoon as it welcomes Aquinas to the Ebeid Recreation Center for a 1 p.m. tipoff.