Women's Basketball Falls to Hot Shooting Racers

(Lima, OH)-- After a close first quarter, the Cleary Cougar women's basketball team was unable to keep up with the UNOH Racers, as they fell 96-69 in Lima, Ohio Wednesday evening.

Melanin Holman would give the Cougars the early lead when she scored the game's opening points.  UNOH would tie the game, but Cleary would score four straight points thanks to Samantha Hoelscher and Melanin Holman.  The four point advantage would grow to six when Hoelscher made another layup, to make the score 12-6.  With Cleary leading 16-10, UNOH would score seven straight points to take the lead at 17-16.  The teams would trade points to finish the quarter, with Jess Andrew connecting on a jumper to give the Cougars a 20-19 lead through ten minutes.

UNOH would start the second quarter strong, building a seven point lead through the first four minutes of quarter action.  Cleary would cut that deficit to four points, thanks in part to four made free throws and an and-one layup.  After that mini-run by the Cougars, the Racers would build an eleven point lead.  Cleary would once again cut the deficit to five points, but the Racers would regain their double-digit lead, and would hold a 46-36 at the half.

The third quarter was all UNOH, as the Racers would hold the Cougars in check while scoring at will, and doubled the deficit within four minutes of the second half.  UNOH outscored the Cougars in the third quarter by a 33-13 margin, as Cleary trailed 79-49.

The Cougars would not quit, but would be unable to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, as the game ended with a 96-69 score.

Samantha Hoelscher had a game-high 27 points to gow with 5 rebounds and 4 assists.  Jess Andrew would add 13 points and 9 rebounds, while Izzy Dugal had 10 points and 6 rebounds.

UNOH made 12 three pointers to Cleary's 3 in the game, and 22 free throws to CU's 16.  Cleary would shoot 38% to the Racers' 53% from the floor in the game.

The loss drops Cleary's record to 7-8 overall, 5-4 in the WHAC.  The Cougars will be back on the road on Saturday, January 10, when they travel to Southfield to take on the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils.  The game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM.