Daily Herald Article

PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College women's basketball team made things very interesting in the closing minutes on Wednesday night against Wilbur Wright College. The Hawks clawed their way back from a 17-point deficit but came up a little short, losing 60-54 to the visiting Rams.

The Hawks (6-12, 0-3 N4C) did all of this without leading scorer Joslyn Nicholson (/Cary-Grove). The Rams (5-11, 1-2 N4C) took their biggest lead of the game at 46-29 with 10:14 on a Tayja Dean layup, but Harper slowly fought its way back. Herzog scored 21 of her game-high and career-high 27 points after halftime, including five second half 3-pointers. Ashonte Sims (/Normal Community West) (12 points) knocked down a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to 52-42 with 3:57 remaining.

Lane Winkler (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) (15 points) buried a 3-pointer to cut it to single digits at 54-45, but on three consecutive possessions, Dean, who is the leading scorer at the NJCAA Div. II level, found Mandy Coffee for a layup, knocked down a jumper, and split the defense and found Jada Clark for a layup to put the Rams ahead 60-47 with 54 seconds to play.

Harper did not go quietly, however, as a Sims jumper and Herzog layup off a steal cut the deficit to 60-51. After another Wright turnover, Herzog canned another 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to make it 60-54. The Rams missed the front end of a one-and-one situation, but Dean (25 points, four rebounds, eight assists) grabbed an offensive rebound to help preserve the win.

The Hawks trailed 27-17 at halftime after shooting just 20 percent (6-of-30) in the first half. Harper shot 40 percent (14-of-35) in the second half and 30.8 percent (20-of-65) for the game. The Rams shot 39.4 percent (26-of-66) in the game.

Harper plays its next N4C game at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn on Saturday at 5 PM.