PALATINE, IL – In their final non-conference game of the season, the Ancilla women’s basketball team travelled to Harper College (6-8) and defeated the Hawks 70-68.
In a game that saw seven ties and nine lead changes the visiting Chargers (8-5) hung tough on the road while posting their fourth highest field goal shooting performance of the season (29-75, 38.7%).
Khadijah Moore upped her season average to 22.9 points per game and jumped to eighth in the nation in that category with a 27 point performance. She also led the team in rebounding with ten. Taylor Kuhnle dropped in 13 points and pulled down eight rebounds, while Michelle Detwiler grabbed eight rebounds and Breann Ault and Alexis Williams each added eight points. Harper’s Joslyn Nicholson led all scoring with 41 points.
The host Hawks came into the game with five players, but had one foul out with 11:55 to go in the game with a 44-42 lead. After the Chargers tied the game at 44, Harper went on a 9-0 run. Ancilla then scored 13 unanswered points to take a 57-53 lead with 6:15 to go in the game. After a back-and-forth battle, Harper regained the lead at the 3:36 mark, going up 62-61. After stretching the lead to 64-61 on their next possession, Harper was outscored by Ancilla 9-4 in the final 3:13 of the game.
“Harper was very short-handed but gave a great effort and really made things difficult on us,” began Ancilla coach Tom Robbins. “The defensive effort of La’Fabian Coleman ultimately gave us the opportunity to win as she wore down Nicholson late in the game. Nicholson had a great game against us but struggled to score in the closing minute due to La’Fabian’s constant pressure throughout the game.”
Ancilla’s next game is their Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference opener at Lansing Community College on January 3 at 1:00 p.m. They return home on January 7 at 5:30 p.m. to take on Lake Michigan College.
