Box Score PALATINE, IL-  The Harper College women's basketball team played the Morton Panthers in Cicero on Tuesday night and fell by a score of 67-48.

The Hawks started out strong in the first quarter as they finished with 16 points and shot 50% for the quarter.  At the first buzzer, the Hawks were down 22-16 but were making a run after falling behind by as many as 12 early on.  Kaela Drum, Maggie O'Donnell, and Ashley Shapiro contributed all 16 points for the Hawks.  Unfortunately for Harper, the hot shooting would turn ice cold in the second quarter as they only managed three total field goals and 8 points heading into halftime.  The Hawks finished the second quarter shooting 20% and were down 43-24 at half.  Shapiro led the way with 13 points.

A few critical defensive adjustments made all the difference for the Hawks after the break as they caused multiple turnovers and turned them into points on the offensive end.  The defensive stops allowed the Hawks to apply more pressure and they finished the third quarter outscoring Morton 12-10 but still trailed 53-36.  The shooting woes from the second quarter trickled into the fourth as the Hawks once again only hit three field goals but were saved by going 5-7 from the free throw line.  At the end of the game, the first half deficit was too much to handle for the Hawks, leading to a 67-48 defeat.

Despite having Kaela Drum (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Ashley Shapiro (game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds) finish with double-doubles, the Hawks fell to 2-6 on the year.  For the game, Harper shot 28% from the field and 36% from the three-point line.  Next up, the Hawks will travel to Malta on Tuesday to take on Kishwaukee at 5pm.