Lourdes rallied from as many as 16 down in the second half and got within a point of Wilberforce on Monday evening, but were unable to come away with the victory as it fell 63-52 inside the Ebeid Recreation Center.

"I think we had a good late comeback," said head coach John Kenger following the matchup. "We just dug ourselves into too big of a hole and weren't quite able to get out of it. Hopefully we can learn from this moving forward and try fixing our mistakes."
 
Wilberforce (7-8 overall) took control of the contest early, jumping out to a 9-0 lead to force a Gray Wolf timeout with 5:42 left in the first quarter. Christiana Jefferson (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame) hit a pair of free throws out of the timeout and sparked a quick 4-0 run for Lourdes.
 
Wilberforce would quickly put a Lourdes run to rest after hitting a three-pointer. Riley Raburn (Horton, Mich./Lumen Christi) was able to make her way through the lane and score just before the buzzer to help Lourdes pull within 16-11 after one quarter.
 
The visiting Bulldogs took command of the contest in the second quarter, stretching their lead to as many as 14 points on two occasions. Lea Coulter would beat the buzzer and hit a layup to give Wilberforce a 33-19 halftime lead.
 
The halftime break proved to be a turning point for Lourdes, as it opened the second half on an 8-0 run to force a Wilberforce timeout with 7:07 left in the third quarter and cut the lead to 33-27. LaTyrah Beasley (Toledo, Ohio/Bowsher) scored three points to lead the Gray Wolf run.
 
The Bulldogs were able to answer and regain control of the contest, pushing their lead to as many as 45-29 with 3:28 left in the third period. From there, the Gray Wolves would chip away at the lead and close the gap to 47-41 entering the fourth quarter. Hunter Kershaw (Columbus, Ohio/Westland) took advantage of a foul at the buzzer and hit a pair of free throws to end the quarter.
 
Lourdes continued to rally in the fourth period, getting within a point of the visitors. Mirandia Green (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer) led a late Gray Wolf surge and hit a three-pointer with 2:14 left on the clock to help Lourdes get within 53-52.
 
From there, Wilberforce closed the contest on a 10-0 run to seal the 63-52 victory.
 
Kershaw and Beasley each netted 11 points to lead the Gray Wolf offense in the contest. Beasley also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, while Kershaw added six rebounds. Green added nine points and five rebounds for Lourdes.
 
Lourdes won the battle on the boards by a 42-37 margin.
 
The Gray Wolves finished 16-of-57 (28.1%) from the field and hit two three-pointers, while the Bulldogs finished 24-of-56 (42.9%) from the field and made six three-point field goals.
 
The Gray Wolves (7-12) will return to action in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference on Wednesday evening as they tipoff at 5:30 p.m. on the road at Rochester (Mich.).