Box Score PALATINE, IL- The Harper College women's basketball team started off the second half of N4C play the right way, defeating the Wilbur Wright Rams 63-51.
Coming off a tough loss against MATC, the Hawks looked to rebound in a big way against a Rams team that they defeated early in the new year. After a quick Ram layup from the tip,
Carrie Kerlin kept her hot shooting from the last game going as she hit a corner three to give the Hawks an early lead. An
Angelina Villasin three, combined with a
Kaela Drum layup and an
Ashley Shapiro putback gave the Hawks an 8-point first quarter lead just 3 and a half minutes in. However, the Hawks would go cold from then on while adding in a few bad turnovers and ended the first quarter trailing 14-12. Shapiro's two free throws at the start of the second brought the game back to a tie before Drum stole a Ram's pass and led
Abbey Sloan for a transition layup to put the Hawks back on top. Harper would build back a four-point lead until the Rams sparked a comeback of their own and took a small lead with one minute to go in the half. Villasin connected with one of two free throws to go into the half tied for the second straight game.
Sydney Heinrich gave Harper their first lead of the second half on a 12-foot jumper a minute and half into the second half. Harper's guard play was the story of the third quarter as Villasin and Sloan used their quickness to combine for 10 third quarter points, giving the Hawks a 7-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. The fourth started slowly for both teams who were each playing with short benches and showed signs of fatigue early. The two teams combined for just 14 points in the first 6 minutes of the fourth before Harper was able to take control. The Hawks were able to keep the Rams from scoring for the last 3 minutes of the quarter en route to a 63-51 victory.
Although it will not show up in the box score, the difference maker in the game was Heinrich's defense. Coming into the game, Wilbur Wright center Sierra Sanders was averaging close to 20 points in conference play. At the end of the first half, Heinrich kept Sanders to just 5 points on just 2-8 shooting. Heinrich eventually ended up fouling out for the fourth time this season, but she made her minutes count for the Hawks.
The Hawks continued to struggle from the floor, shooting 35% but went 11-15 from the charity stripe. Villasin led all scorers with 24 points and Ashley Shapiro notched her sixth straight double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Kaela Drum led the team with 5 assists while adding 10 rebounds of her own.
Harper now sit in 6th place in the N4C at 3-5 (6-16 overall). Next up, the Hawks will host the Rock Valley Golden Eagles on Wednesday at Robert Morris. In their first meeting, the final score did not tell the whole story. Playing with only 5 players all game, the Hawks held a first quarter lead but eventually fell 85-36. Tip off is scheduled for 5pm.
