Daily Herald Article

PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College women's basketball team made things very interesting in the closing minutes of its home opener against Prairie State.

That was until Hawks (1-1) guard Jackie Stroud (Norridge, Ill. /Ridgewood) buried a pair of free throws with 3.7 seconds left to preserve a 49-45 win over the Pioneers.

Tied at 41-41, Ashonte Sims (Bloomington, Ill. /Normal Community West) knocked down a jump shot to give the Hawks a two-point lead with 3:48 to play. With 2:40 remaining, Lexi Zades (/Conant) buried a 3-pointer to put the hosts ahead 46-41. However, in the closing minutes, Harper, who struggled from the line all game (13-of-32), missed seven straight free throws to keep Prairie State in the game.

Pioneers forward Trannika Vance scored with 19 seconds left to cut the deficit to 46-43 before Harper's Nicole Soderholm (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) finally ended the free throw drought by hitting her second free throw to put the Hawks ahead 47-43. Vance scored again to slice the Harper lead in half, and Prairie State sent Jackie Stroud (Norridge, Ill. /Ridgewood) to the free throw line.

Stroud, who was 1-of-5 from the charity stripe up to that point, calmly buried the two free throws to secure the win.

Stroud's sharp shooting was also a big reason why the Hawks won the game. The freshman buried six 3-points on her way to a career-high 21 points. The 5-foot-7 guard drilled back-to-back triples early in the fourth quarter to help Harper keep pace with its opponent.

For Harper, Kim Herzog (/Buffalo Grove) added eight points and a team-best six rebounds. Vance led Prairie State with a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds on 9-of-15 shooting.

As a team, the Hawks struggled from the floor and shot just 27.1 percent (13-of-48). Harper, however, shot an impressive 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from 3-point lead. Harper led 22-18 at halftime.

The Pioneers shot 35.2 percent (19-of-54) from the field. Amber Gaynor chipped in eight points.

The Hawks play next on the road at McHenry County College on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 5:15 PM.

Note: NJCAA women's basketball will follow the rule changes from NCAA women's basketball, most significantly that games will be played in four 10-minute quarters this season.