Daily Herald Article

PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College women's basketball team nearly pulled off a win against Ancilla College on Tuesday night but came up just short, losing 70-68.

The Hawks (6-8) were forced to play with only four players for the final 11:53 after point guard Kim Herzog (/Buffalo Grove) fouled out. At that point, the Hawks led 44-42, but that's when Joslyn Nicholson (/Cary-Grove) took over. The sophomore forward, who poured in a career-high 41 points, converted 7-of-8 free throws in just over a minute's time after Herzog fouled out. She then knocked down a jumper with 10:18 remaining to give the Hawks a 53-44 lead, their biggest of the game.

The Chargers (7-5) decided to have one player face guard Nicholson for the rest of the game, making it difficult for her to catch the ball. In doing so, they went on a 10-0 run, capped off by a Taylor Kuhnle three-point play to give the visitors a 55-53 edge with 7:07 to play.

Harper regained the lead at 62-61 with 3:36 remaining on a Nicholson steal and three-point play, and she buried a jumper on the next possession to make it 64-61. Ancilla took the lead with 1:53 left on a Kuhnle layup, but Harper's Lane Winkler (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) knocked down a short jumper to tie the game at 66.

Kuhnle (13 points) scored on another layup, and following a Nicholson missed 3-pointer, Khadijah Moore found Kuhnle for another open layup to give the Chargers a 70-66 lead with 20 seconds left.

Nicholson knocked down a jumper to cut it to 70-68, and the Hawks were forced to foul with 3.5 seconds left. Moore missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, and Harper called timeout to set up one final play for the win or tie. The Hawks turned it over, and the Chargers were able to dribble out the clock to preserve the win.

Moore led the way for Ancilla with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and eight steals.

In addition to scoring 41 points, Nicholson corralled 14 rebounds. She was 13-of-31 from the floor and converted 15-of-18 free throw attempts. Winkler scored 11 points and was 3-of-7 shooting on 3-pointers. Ashonte Sims (/Normal Community West) chipped in nine points and nine rebounds.

Harper plays its next game on Saturday, January 3, 2015 against Mid Michigan Community College. Tipoff is set for 1 PM inside the Wellness & Sports Center (Building M).