Box Score PALATINE, IL-  The Harper College women's basketball team had their first home game of the season at Robert Morris University on Thursday as they hosted the Elgin Community College Spartans.  Despite leading for more than 30 minutes, the Hawks would eventually fall by a score of 77-65.

The start of the first quarter showed the promise that head coach Sean Stochl has come to expect from the women's team, as Carrie Kerlin hit a jumper put Harper on the board.  The lead would be extended to 8-2 in Harper's favor and they led the rest of the quarter, going into the first break with an 18-13 lead.  All five starters notched points for the Hawks while freshman point guard Maggie O'Donnell contributed 5 assists.  The second quarter would start off more of the same as Ashley Shapiro's layup put the Hawks up 20-13.  However, the Spartans would put together a three minute run and went ahead of Harper 21-20.  A free throw by Kaela Drum and a three-pointer from O'Donnell put the Hawks back on top 24-23.  Sophomore guard Angelina Villasin, who was making her season debut after missing the first 8 games with an injury, would go on to score 8 of the Hawks' next 12 points to bring the score to 36-28 in Harper's favor.  After Sydney Heinrich hit two free throws with just under a minute to play, O'Donnell would hit a three at the buzzer to put the Hawks up 41-32 heading into the half.
 
The Hawks would score the first four points of the third quarter to give them their largest lead of the game at 13 points.  However, four missed field goals and two turnovers allowed the Spartans to trim the lead to 2 with 6 minutes to go in the third.  The duo of Villasin and Shapiro would then team up to score the Hawks' last 13 points of the third, while the team held Elgin to 6 points on only one field goal.  At the end of the third, Harper held a 59-49 lead and looked well on their way of ending their four-game losing streak.
 
A three-pointer by Villasin kept the Hawks at their 10 point advantage but interesting turn of events would keep the Hawks from celebrating their third win of the season.  To everyone's amazement, that field goal was the last one the Hawks would score as they went 1-13 in the fourth and put up a total of 6 points in the quarter.  After a first half that only saw 16 total fouls from both teams, the Hawks were called on 15 of their own in the second.  Just three and a half minutes into the quarter, the Hawks picked up 5 fouls, allowing the Spartans two free throws on each foul for the remainder of the game.  From the six minute mark on, Elgin would go on a 14-3 run, including 7 points on free throws, to bring the game to the 77-65 final score.
 
On the bright side, Ashley Shapiro finished with 20 points for her second consecutive 20-point game.  Shapiro and Kaela Drum tied for the team lead with 8 rebounds while Maggie O'Donnell led the way with 6 assists.  An overall strong defensive game was led by Sydney Heinrich, who finished with 2 steals and a block before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.  Despite the poor shooting in the fourth quarter, the Hawks shot 42% from the field, doubling their percentage from the previous two games.
 
With the loss, the Hawks fall to 2-8 on the season with four games remaining before the new year.  Next up, the Hawks travel to Grayslake to take on the College of Lake County Lancers on Saturday.  Tip-off is scheduled for 1pm.