GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Lourdes women's basketball team (19-5, 15-3 in WHAC) lost 63 to 66 against Aquinas (16-7, 14-4 in WHAC) in a Saturday afternoon battle.

The third -place Saints have inched a game back from Lourdes in the WHAC standings with the win. The Gray Wolves fall to two games back from their next opponent, first place Indiana Tech.

1^st Quarter
Lourdes scored over one-third of their points in the first quarter, attacking the rim for a 21-point offensive explosion. After some back and forth to start the game, Lourdes went on a 10-2 run in the middle of the quarter to take a 17 to 12 lead. The two squads traded free throws and mid-range shots to end the quarter with a 21 to 16 Gray Wolves advantage.

Senior forward Tamyah Worthy had two steals in the quarter and three in the game. The defensive powerhouse is one steal away from tying the Lourdes single season steals record and two away from breaking the record altogether.

2^nd Quarter
The second quarter was a completely different game than the first. Both teams struggled shooting the basketball with Lourdes at a 16.7% clip and Aquinas at 25%. Lourdes was held to just nine second quarter points while Aquinas had just 12. The game was a two point Gray Wolves advantage at the half.

A positive for Lourdes in the second quarter was that senior forward Camryn Ivy got her 25^th block of the season. She is now tied for the 3^rd most career blocks in Lourdes history with 39 and she has only played for the Gray Wolves for two seasons. Ivy is three blocks away from tying the Lourdes single season block record and four away from breaking the record completely.  

3^rd Quarter
The third quarter featured more defensive dominance by the Saints. Lourdes was held to just 11 points and 18.8% shooting in the quarter. Senior guard Oliwia Dyja had seven of her 11 total points in the game in the third quarter to keep Lourdes alive. Dyja has scored double digits in three of her last five games now.

4^th Quarter
Heading into the final quarter down by four, Lourdes needed an offensive spark. The catalyst came in the form of senior guard duo Emma Pedroza and Kaylona Butler. Pedroza scored seven points in the quarter (16 on the day) and Butler scored nine in the quarter (18 on the day). The duo are both top-five scorers in the conference and helped cut the lead to two with under a minute left.

With the score at 58 to 60, the Gray Wolves almost forced a backcourt violation by the Saints. However, the ball tipped off a Lourdes players hands and eventually into the hands of Aquinas sharpshooter Isabel Reemsnyder, who hit a corner three pointer while falling over to give the Saints a five-point lead with 26 seconds remaining.

Wasting no time, Emma Pedroza dribbled down in the court in five seconds and drained a three pointer of her own from the top of the arc to cut the lead back to two with 15 seconds left.

Being forced to foul, Lourdes sent Aquinas' Hope Kanouse to the line. She knocked down one free throw to put the Saints back up three. Coach Bradford called a timeout to advance the ball and Kaylona Butler immediately hit a layup off an offensive rebound to trim the lead to a single point with four seconds left.

Paige Guernsey knocked down both subsequent free throws for Aquinas to extend the lead back to three. With no timeouts left, Pedroza had to heave a full court shot, which missed, giving Aquinas a three-point win and ending the Gray Wolves eight game winning streak.

Stats
It wasn't the best offensive day for either squad with Lourdes shooting 33.3% from the field and Aquinas shooting 38.6%. Both teams shot under 30% from beyond the arc but they both shot over 90% from the charity stripe. Aquinas outrebounded Lourdes by six but Lourdes won the turnover battle by five.

Coach Bradford's Postgame Comments
"It was a great environment for two of the top teams in the WHAC," Coach Bradford said postgame. "We knew they would come to play hard and compete at their best with it being their senior day. We needed to work for some cleaner shots in order to finish with a higher percentage. This team will continue to compete at a high level, and we will take this game and grow better from it."

Next Game
The Gray Wolves will head back home on Wednesday, Feb. 11 to take on first-place Indiana Tech at 5:30 pm. If Lourdes wants a shot at the WHAC Tournament 1-seed, they need to defeat the Warriors at home.