In two meetings between the defensive-minded Aquinas and Lourdes women's basketball teams this season, neither team has reached the 50-point mark. On Wednesday (Jan. 29) in Sylvania, Ohio, the Saints held a slim fourth-quarter advantage, but the Gray Wolves escaped with a 48-46 victory on their home floor.
The teams split the season series, with each team winning in its own gym. Aquinas is 14-9 overall and 10-4 in WHAC play, while Lourdes drops to 7-15 on the year and 5-9 in conference action. On Nov. 23 in Grand Rapids, AQ topped the Gray Wolves by a 43-40 score and the teams again played in the 40's in Wednesday night's defensive battle.
Neither team reached the 30.0 percent shooting mark, with Lourdes hitting 29.8 percent of its shots and AQ shooting 27.9 percent from the field. The Gray Wolves went 4-of-17 from three-point range and 10-of-16 at the line, while Aquinas was 3-of-15 from downtown and 9-of-11 at the stripe.
Keeley Hinton posted 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Camaryia Williams narrowly missed a double-double with a game-high 16 rebounds, nine points, and six steals, while
Marissa Brady added nine points, three boards, and two blocks.
Jaylynn Williams totaled seven points,
JaKarri Alven posted five points and five rebounds, and
Ally Frederickson supplied four points, a career-high tying four blocked shots, and three rebounds.
AQ won the rebounding battle 44-42 but committed 17 turnovers, while Lourdes made 14 miscues. The Saints led in the paint (26-18) and in second chance points (13-6), while the Gray. Wolves posted a 15-4 edge in bench points. There were seven lead changes in the game, with Lourdes taking the final lead change at the 8:13 mark of the fourth quarter.
A low-scoring first quarter saw the Saints up 7-6 after 10 minutes.
Jaylynn Williams and Brady each scored in the final two minutes of the first half to give AQ a 22-19 halftime advantage.
Alven sank a pair of free throws with 7:43 remaining in the third quarter to give Aquinas a 30-23 edge, its largest lead of the game. Lourdes responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 30-all before Frederickson hit a jumper as the Saints regained the lead. AQ went into the fourth quarter in front 34-31.
After the Gray Wolves tied the game at 34-34, Brady connected on two freebies with 8:28 remaining. Lourdes hit a three-pointer on its next possession and would Aquinas would not lead again in the game. It was 42-41 with 3:27 to go, but the Gray Wolves buried a big trifecta to extend to a 45-41 edge and AQ did not score again until the final minute.
Camaryia Williams went coast-to-coast with a steal and a layup to make it 45-43 with 51 seconds to play, but Lourdes converted a layup with the shot clock about to expire to regain a 47-43 cushion with 21 seconds left.
Jaylynn Williams' three-pointer with six seconds left made it 47-46, but Lourdes split two freebies and clinched the win.
Aquinas returns home to host Rochester at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 1). The Saints defeated RU on its home floor 64-52 on Dec. 14.
