Lourdes rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to defeat Aquinas 81-67 on Saturday afternoon as the Gray Wolve celebrated Senior Day inside Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"I am really proud of how we came back and stayed focused," head coach Tandy Bradford said afterwards.  "Everyone supported the game plan from beginning to end even with the adversity we had in the first half.  Everyone senior contributed on Senior Day and that is something we want as a program.  The team worked to make that happen.  Everyone stepped up to help on defense in the second half which allowed us to get in transition and score some easy baskets."
 
The Gray Wolves found themselves behind quickly as Aquinas made four three-pointers in the game's first five minutes as the Saints jumped out to an 18-9 lead.  Lourdes got within five, 24-19, early in the second quarter before the Saints went on a 9-2 run on the way to building a 39-25 halftime advantage.
 
The Saints led by 12, 41-29, with under seven minutes left in the third when Lourdes went on an 18-5 run to close the third.  The quarter ended with a steal in the closing seconds by Nadeen Jemaa (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg H.S.), who then drained a long three-pointer as the horn sounded to put the Gray Wolves in front 47-46, the team's first lead since 5-3.
 
Lourdes carried the momentum into the fourth, scoring the first six points of the period as part of another 18-6 run, pushing the advantage to 13.  The Gray Wolves would never see their lead fall into single digits the rest of the way and led by as many as 17 down the stretch.
 
After shooting just 28.6% from the floor over the opening 20 minutes, Lourdes shot 61.8% in the second half, including 12-of-15 (80%) in the fourth quarter, to finish at 43.4% for the game. 
 
Shae Pedroza (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon H.S.) led Lourdes with 14 points while Halle Barnett (Sylvania, Ohio/Southview H.S.) and Macie Stringfellow (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg H.S.) added 13 each. 
 
The Gray Wolf defense forced 17 Saints turnovers on the afternoon was the offense outscored Aquinas 52-28 in the paint.
 
Alona Blackwell led Aquinas (8-12, 5-9 WHAC) with 32 points while Ashlyn Wilkes added 11 more.
 
Lourdes (7-12, 5-9) returns to the road on Wednesday evening as the Gray Wolves travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. to battle Concordia (Mich.).  Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. inside of Cardinal Fieldhouse.