The Aquinas women's basketball team played for the third time in as many days and nearly overcame a 19-point third quarter deficit on Saturday (Nov. 5) in the Sturrus Center. Visiting IU-Northwest held a 54-35 lead shortly before the fourth quarter, but the home Saints put together a strong comeback before falling short by a 73-68 final.
 
AQ took on Western Michigan in an exhibition contest on Thursday (Nov. 3) and secured a 20-point victory over Great Lakes Christian on Friday (Nov. 4) on the Saints' home floor. Saturday's non-conference result drops Aquinas to 2-1 on the season, while the visiting Redhawks improve to 2-0.
 
IU-Northwest was just a little better offensively, shooting 44.1 percent from the field and making eight three-pointers, while Aquinas made 40.7 percent of its shots and drained nine trifectas. The Redhawks held a 43-31 edge in rebounds and a 32-18 advantage in the paint, but AQ was more proficient with a 28-9 lead in bench points. 
 
Four Saints reached double-digits in the loss, led by a career-high 27 points from Isabel Reemsnyder. The sophomore shot an efficient 11-for-20 from the field and drained 5-of-10 three-point tries. It was her second time cracking double figures in AQ's first three games.
 
Brighton Miller and JaKarri Alven each scored 13 points. Miller made three triples, while Alven shot 5-of-10 from the field and added three steals and three assists. Mauriya Barnes totaled 10 points and made 5-of-6 free throws.
 
A competitive first quarter saw the Redhawks lead 18-12 after 10 minutes. IU-Northwest held a 15-point advantage in the second quarter and took a 39-26 halftime cushion. In the opening 20 minutes, IUNW shot an even 50 percent from the floor and went 7-of-18 from downtown. 
 
The Redhawks lead swelled to 54-35 with 2:57 to play before back-to-back three-pointers from Reemsnyder in a 29-second surge made it 54-41. A 6-0 run late in the fourth quarter saw Alven convert a jumper, Reemsnyder scored on a short jumper from inside the paint, and Alven knocked down two freebies to make it 68-62 in the closing minute. 
 
IU-Northwest converted a few free throws in the final 32 seconds helped the Redhawks survive Barnes' last-second three-pointer. The Saints forced IUNW into 20 turnovers; both teams scored 20 points off the other team's miscues.
 
Paige Guernsey grabbed a team-high six boards in just 10 minutes off the bench, while Barnes led AQ with four assists. 
 
The Saints open up WHAC play next Wednesday night (Nov. 9) at 5:30 p.m. at Lawrence Tech in Southfield, Mich.