Lourdes battled back from a nine-point second half deficit to take the lead in the closing seconds on Saturday evening, but Concordia (Mich.) answered with two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to defeat the Gray Wolves 49-48 inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"We played hard, and the girls did what we asked of them," head coach Tandy Bradford said afterwards.  "This was our best defensive effort of the season.  Now we need to finish the opportunities that we created for ourselves offensively."
 
In the low scoring affair, Lourdes limited the Cardinals to just 31.1% shooting from the floor and 2-of-20 (10%) from three-point range on the evening, but the Gray Wolves connected at just a 30.2% clip themselves while going 2-of-16 (12.5%) from beyond the arc.
 
Neither team led by more than three in the opening period and the game was tied at 16 with 2:43 to play before halftime before the Cardinals closed the half with seven straight points to take a 23-16 lead into the locker room.
 
Concordia scored the first basket of the third quarter to push the lead to nine before eight straight Gray Wolf points made it a one-point game, 25-24, midway through the third.  The Cardinals then took a 33-30 lead into the final 10 minutes.
 
After the Cardinals extended the lead back to six, 43-37, with six minutes remaining, Lourdes fought back, closing to within one on a three-point play by Shae Pedroza (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon H.S.).  Again, Concordia pushed the lead back to five, this time with two minutes remaining.
 
Back-to-back baskets by Emma Pedroza (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon H.S.) cut the Cardinal lead to one with 1:12 remaining.  After the defense forced a missed shot, Macie Stringfellow (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg H.S.) grabbed a pair of offensive boards and was fouled the second time.  She made two free throws with 6.8 seconds left to put the Gray Wolves in front 48-47, Lourdes' first lead since 6-5.
 
After a timeout to advance the ball, Concordia went inside and Brooke Bauher was fouled, and made two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to give the Cardinals the victory.
 
Shae Pedroza led Lourdes with 16 points while Nakiya Sigman (Lima, Ohio/Lima Senior H.S.) added nine points.  Stringfellow pulled down 14 rebounds and Halle Barnett (Sylvania, Ohio/Southview H.S.) grabbed 11 more.
 
Abby Long led Concordia (8-2, 7-0 WHAC) with 17 points while Taylor Leatherman added 14 points and 15 rebounds.
 
Lourdes (3-7, 2-4) will travel to Defiance, Ohio on Monday evening to face Defiance in a non-conference game.  Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. inside the Karl H. Weaner Center.