SYLVANIA, Ohio – Lourdes women's basketball (11-3) (7-1 in WHAC) beat Lawrence Tech (3-10) (2-6 in WHAC) 85 to 70 on Saturday afternoon, improving their record at the Ebeid Rec Center to 8-0 on the season.
 
The 15-point win keeps the Gray Wolves tied with Indiana Tech atop the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) standings with a 7-1 league record.

Lourdes led 19-15 after the first quarter on the back of a consistent successful press defense that forced three Lawrence Tech turnovers.

The Gray Wolves then started off the second quarter on an 11-8 run to extend their lead to seven. Senior forward Diana Morales scored five points in five minutes off the bench during the run for the Gray Wolves, helping to lead Lourdes to a 39-32 lead at the half.

A string of four Lawrence Tech turnovers in the first minute of the third quarter gave Lourdes a 9-0 run to push the lead into double digits. Lourdes would go on to keep the double digit lead throughout the majority of the second half, finishing the game with a 15-point win.

Junior guard Kaylona Butler led the team in scoring with 26 points, 10 of which came in the first quarter alone. Senior guard Emma Pedroza nearly missed another double-double, scoring 17 points with a team-high nine assists. Oliwia Dyja led all players with nine rebounds, seven of which were in an incredible first half for the senior guard.

Senior forward Tamyah Worthy played a great game on both ends of the floor, scoring 17 points on 70% shooting, while contributing three steals. The local Toledo native showed a high defensive intensity throughout the game, often shutting down the Blue Devils post players and wings she was matched up against.

"My defensive energy is something that I've taken a lot of pride in since I was little," Worthy said. "Having my team build off defense is something that has helped us a lot this season. We can go basket-for-basket with a team but when we lockdown and play team defense we look incredible."

The team defense forced the Blue Devils into 20 turnovers and limited their offense to 40% shooting from the floor. The Gray Wolves also had nine steals and a block in the game. Offensively, Lourdes shot 49.2% from the field and out-rebounded Lawrence Tech by four.
 
Coach Bradford's Postgame Comments
"Really happy with our defense today as far as their focus," Coach Bradford said. "Offensively coming off our road trip, I think we needed some time to get calibrated with each other and get back on that pace that we're used to playing. I'm proud of them for putting their noses to the ground and improving the amount of turnovers we committed in the second half; that was a goal coming into the game. They had to intentionally lock down and know that we can still run our offense fast without turning the ball over. I think we turned a corner on lessons that we learned from being on the road in Kentucky. You have to be proud of a team that wants to stay at the top, especially going into the Indiana Tech game on Wednesday."

Next Game
Lourdes will take on 22^nd-ranked Indiana Tech on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. on the road as part of a men's and women's double header. The matchup is crucial as the two teams are currently tied for first place in the WHAC.