The Lourdes women's basketball team picked up a big Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference victory on Wednesday evening, defeating Concordia 69-61 to post its second straight victory.
 
"This was a great team win on the road against a very hungry Concordia team," said head coach John Kenger following the contest. "I'm really proud of this group and hope we can continue the good work."
 
The first ten minutes of the contest proved to be a tight battle as the two teams went back and forth exchanging buckets. With Concordia (4-15, 3-8 WHAC) holding a 20-16 late in the quarter, Daija Stafford (Louisville, Ky./Moore) sunk a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 20-18 after one quarter.
 
After Lourdes took a 24-22 lead in the second period and Concordia hit a jumper to knot the game at 24-all, the Gray Wolves used an 8-4 run capped by a three-pointer from Riley Raburn (Horton, Mich./Lumen Christi) to help Lourdes take a 32-28 lead into the break.
 
The third quarter was another tight battle, but Christiana Jefferson (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame) hit a late jumper in the period to help Lourdes edge the hosts 19-18 in the period and take a 51-46 lead into the final quarter.
 
After the Cardinals scored the opening two points of the fourth quarter, Lourdes ripped off seven straight points capped by a three-pointer from Sydney Miller (Huntsville, Ohio/Indian Lake) to take a 58-49 lead with 5:41 left in the matchup.
 
A late three-pointer from Concordia cut Lourdes' lead to 66-61, but Jami Hardy (Perrysburg, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch) nailed 3-of-4 free throws late to help the Gray Wolves seal the 69-61 victory.
 
Hardy led the way for the Gray Wolf offense, netting 14 points. Ramiah Henry (Toledo, Ohio/Waite) added 13 points, while LaTyrah Beasley (Toledo, Ohio/Bowsher) chipped in 12 points in the victory.
 
The Gray Wolves finished 22-of-62 (35.5%) from the field, while the Cardinals were 20-of-57 (35.1%) from the floor.
 
Lourdes (7-10, 3-7 WHAC) returns to the court on Saturday afternoon and continues action in the WHAC as it travels to Aquinas for a 1 p.m. tipoff inside the Sturrus Sports & Fitness Center.