PALATINE, Ill. - After leading by as many as 14 points in the first half, the Harper College women's basketball team ran out of gas in the second half, dropping a 63-58 decision to Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Milwaukee (3-13, 1-4 N4C) outscored the Hawks 38-24 in the second half, shooting 18-for-30 from the floor compared with 7-for-32 for Harper (6-8, 1-4).  The Hawks, who had just six healthy players, were hurt by 29 turnovers.

Monica Hinderer (Arlington Heights, Ill., The Willows Academy) led the way with 19 points and 14 rebounds while Rachel Payne (Wheeling, Ill., Schaumburg Christian Academy) added 16 points and 8 rebounds.  Nicole Soderholm (Arlington Heights, Ill., Buffalo Grove) played a solid game at point guard with 14 points and 8 assists.

The Hawks got out to a flying start, hitting 15 of their 26 first half shots and taking leads of 14-2 and 30-16.  Milwaukee proceeded to score the next eight points to get back into it, but baskets from Soderholm and Hinderer gave Harper a 34-25 halftime advantage.

The Stormers, however, opened the second half on a 14-5 run to tie the game at 39-39.  Hinderer's basket and free throw put the Hawks back in front and her feed toJayna Rowland (Arlington Heights, Ill., Christian Liberty Academy) made it 44-41.  Harper's final lead of the game came after Payne's free throw with 8:30 left gave the team a 48-45 advantage.

Soderholm's two free throws made it a 1-point game with 6:08 left, but that was as close as the Hawks would get.

Hinderer and Payne combined for 10 of the Hawks'  16 steals but the team shot just 8-for-20 from the free throw line.

Demetria Watson led Milwaukee with 24 points, 11 assists and 8 steals.

Up next, the Hawks visit Triton College on Saturday.  Tipoff is slated for 1:00 PM.