SYLVANIA, Ohio – Lourdes women's basketball (13-4) (9-2 in WHAC) crushed Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) (12-5) (6-5 in WHAC) 77 to 56 on Wednesday evening, increasing their home record to a perfect 9-0 on the season.

The Gray Wolves are still just one game back from No.24 Indiana Tech and Rochester Christian, who are both 10-1 in the WHAC standings.

The win over UNOH is the Gray Wolves' third home win in a row by double-digits and pushes the combined men's and women's basketball programs to an 18-0 home record at the Ebeid Rec Center.

1^st Quarter
Lourdes started off the game on a 14 to five run through the first five minutes. The run was powered by six of the eight Lourdes' first quarter offensive rebounds. The result was a ton of Gray Wolves' second chance buckets, resulting in a 19-10 first quarter lead.

Senior guard Oliwia Dyja also hit two three-pointers in the first quarter to lead all scorers with six points. Defensively, the Gray Wolves capped off the quarter by trapping the Racers' guards in the backcourt and causing a 10-second violation.

2^nd Quarter
The second quarter resulted in four more offensive rebounds for Lourdes, giving them 12 offensive rebounds and 28 total rebounds at the half. The Gray Wolves were up 37 to 26 at the half thanks to Emma Pedroza's deadly jump shot.

The senior guard from Napoleon, Ohio hit two post mid-range shots and a corner three to lead all scorers in the quarter.

Ashley Zawisza also provided a nice spark in the second quarter off the bench, grabbing four rebounds in six minutes. The 5-foot-5 junior guard ended the game with a career-high six rebounds and led the second-string unit to a very solid defensive game.

"I think our team just does a really good job of feeding off each other," Zawisza said. "When I subbed in, I saw that there were offensive rebounds to take, just watching from the bench. We just stayed on the glass, so if I saw a loose ball, I went for it. They're a team that doesn't play a lot of players, so they don't want to foul, so they don't really go for the 50-50 balls. I think what's really awesome is there is no one that we put in the game that isn't going to provide for us. There isn't a single player that we put in the game that doesn't know their role and get their job done."

3^rd Quarter
After some back and forth scoring to start the second half kept the Lourdes lead at double figures, the Racers offense came alive with a 6-0 run from the seven to four-minute mark. However, a fast-break layup and two three-pointers by Emma Pedroza ended the Racers run and extended the Gray Wolves lead back out to 12.

With all the momentum back with the Gray Wolves, senior forward Tamyah Worthy trapped UNOH guard Brooke Asher, causing her to turn the ball right over to Pedroza's hands. Pedroza drove the length of the court and dished it back to Worthy for an easy coast-to-coast layup to lengthen the lead to 14. The lead would stay 14 at the end of the third with Lourdes up 56 to 42.   

4^th Quarter
Lourdes put any UNOH hope to rest with a dazzling offensive display in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter: going on a 15 to 3 run with three three-pointers and a layup all scored by junior guard Kaylona Butler.

Butler had nine points before the run and ended the game leading all scorers with 20 points. The beginning of the quarter proved to be enough cushion for Lourdes as they held on to win by 18.

Stats
Lourdes tied their season-high in total rebounds with 57 on the night. They also set a new season-high in offensive rebounds with 26. Tamyah Worthy particularly had an incredible rebounding game with eight offensive rebounds and 12 total rebounds. Wednesday was Worthy's second straight game with double-digit rebounds and first double-double of the season.

The win really was a complete team effort with all five starters scoring in double figures. The bench only scored eight points but contributed to 16 team rebounds. Junior forward Mbali Mhlanga played in her first game of the season and got three rebounds in the final three minutes to help the team tie their season-high.

The Gray Wolves' perimeter defense was also impressive, holding Northwestern Ohio to 17.4% (4 for 23) from behind the deep line. They also held the WHAC's leading scorer, Alysia Lawson to just 12 points on the night.

Coach Bradford's Postgame Comments
"We were really, really focused and wanted to finish our first half of the conference play on a really big note," Coach Bradford said. "Our defense has set a tone for us all year and I think it showed tonight. We know that one of our strengths is that we can all rebound, everyone can contribute in that. We wanted to keep possession of the ball, and I think we did a great job of that with our offensive rebounding tonight. We also wanted to limit Lawson's opportunities to get the ball and I'm really proud of how we handled communicating in different spots on defense to keep that from happening."

Next Game
Lourdes will take on Cornerstone on the road on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 1pm. Then, they will face Madonna on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 5:30 pm at home to try to improve to 10-0 on the season in the Ebeid Rec Center.