Women's Basketball Takes Victory Lap Over Racers

(Lansing, MI)-- After a back and forth first quarter, the Cleary Cougar women's basketball team picked up their play on defense, allowing them to pull away and earn a crucial 77-59 WHAC victory over the UNOH Racers.

The two teams would trade early punches, but an and-one layup and free throw from Samantha Hoelscher would extend Cleary's early lead to 11-7.  Another Hoelscher layup moments later would make it a six point game, and a layup by Melanin Holman made it 17-9 with just over 3:00 to play in the quarter.  UNOH would finish the quarter on a 10-1 run, and would take a 19-18 lead into the first quarter break.

Cleary would take the lead back on a Samantha Hoelscher layup to open the second quarter.  After the Racers tied the game at 20-20 on a made free throw, Cleary would finish the quarter on a major scoring run.  Evalyn Cole would kick the run off with a made three.  UNOH would score on their next possession, but the Cougars would finish the quarter playing excellent defensively, allowing zero points to be scored.  When Evalyn Cole hit another three with 3:30 left in the half, Cleary held a 30-22 lead.  The run would continue with a Makenna Jarratt three, followed by a Makenna Jarratt layup in transition, giving the Cougars a 35-22 halftime lead, with Cleary outscoring the Racers 17-3 in the quarter.

Evalyn Cole would continue to knock down perimeter shots, making another three that would give the Cougars a fifteen point cushion to begin the second half.  UNOH would cut into the Cougar lead, getting the deficit to eight points, but Karissa Cochran would stop the run with a three, allowing Cleary to reestablish their double-digit advantage.  A Makenna Jarratt made three, followed by an Izzy Dugal jumper saw Cleary leading 58-42 with ten minutes to play in the game.

Evalyn Cole would hit another three to open the fourth quarter, making it a 61-42 game.  Though UNOH would find a way to put the ball in the basket, the Cougars had an answer every time, and never allowed the Racers to get back into the game.  When the Racers cut the deficit to fifteen, Evalyn Cole hit her final three pointer of the game, followed by a Caitlyn Rayl layup, giving the Cougars a twenty point lead, that they were easily able to hang onto, winning the game 77-59.

Izzy Dugal would have a game high 22 points on 10/16 shooting.  Evalyn Cole went 5/7 from behind the arc to have 15 points to go with 5 assists and 4 rebounds.  Samantha Hoelscher would add 11 points and 6 assists, while Jess Andrew had a double-double consisting of 12 assists and 10 rebounds.  Eight of the nine Cougars that played found their way into the scorebook.

Cleary improves their record to 12-13 overall, and are now 10-9 in the WHAC.  The Cougars will look to make it two in a row with a road matchup on Saturday against the Rochester Christian Warriors.  The game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM.