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PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper women's basketball team took a commanding 34-13 lead into halftime on Tuesday night against Morton College and held on for a 58-45 victory.

Harper (4-3) played well in the opening minutes, jumping out to a 17-9 lead. In the final 7:31 of the half, the Hawks closed on a 17-4 run for a 21-point lead. Joslyn Nicholson (/Cary-Grove) scored 14 of her game-high 16 points in the first half, and Lane Winkler (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) scored all nine of her points in the first half.

The Hawks forced 17 Panther turnovers in the first half and held their opponents to just 20 percent (6-of-30 shooting). Harper shot a solid 48.3 percent (14-of-29) from the floor in the half.

Morton (0-6) slowly chipped away at the lead in the second half, as Harper had trouble taking care of the ball (17 turnovers in half).  They cut it to 52-42 on a pair of Leslie Ellis (team-high 12 points) free throws with 2:43 remaining and closed to 52-45 on a 3-pointer, but Nastia Solsaa (/Menomonie ) made 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to help seal the victory. Solsaa scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half and also had six rebounds and five assists.

Ashonte Sims (/Normal Community West) scored nine points off the bench for Harper, and Kim Herzog (/Buffalo Grove) and Marisa Andreuccetti (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Conant) chipped in six and four points, respectively.

With the win, the Hawks are back above .500 at 4-3 and take the court again on Saturday at South Suburban College (4-2). Tipoff is set for 1 PM.