Sylvania, Ohio – The AQ women's basketball team was on the road this afternoon (Jan. 27) for a conference bout against the Lourdes Gray Wolves. Aquinas had a strong performance in the first half, leading 39-25. However, AQ's offense stalled in the second half, allowing the Gray Wolves to march back and win the contest 81-67.

The result puts Aquinas at 8-12 on the season with a 5-9 conference record. Lourdes improves to 7-12 with a 5-9 WHAC record.

Lourdes 81, Aquinas 67

Lourdes opened up the contest with a three and Alona Blackwell responded with a pair of her own threes to jump start the game. Ashlyn Wilkes, Ciara Hardy, and Claire Gregwer scored on the next three possessions to give AQ a 5-5 start to the match.

AQ's hot start gave the Saints 18 points in the first four and a half minutes of the game for an 18-9 lead. The two sides settled in following another Wilkes three and the scoring slowed down a bit for the remainder of the quarter. The Gray Wolves closed the scoring gap, but AQ responded to give the visitors a 22-15 advantage heading into the first intermission.

The Saints' offense caught fire again down the stretch in the second quarter, extending their lead to double-digits. A Brynn Reams jumper, a Blackwell layup, and a series of free throws gave AQ a comfortable 14-point lead heading into halftime. Aquinas shot 45.2 percent from the field in the first half including 5-8 shooting from beyond the arc.

Halftime proved beneficial for Lourdes as the home side made some defensive adjustments to slow down the AQ attack. The Gray Wolves held Aquinas to just eight points in the third quarter, allowing the hosts to erase AQ's lead and take a one-point lead.

Lourdes continued its momentum into the final quarter and claimed as much as a 15-point advantage with less than five minutes to play. LU outscored Aquinas 44-15 over the first 15 minutes of the second half.

Aquinas managed to generate some offense late in the fourth quarter, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome. The scoreboard read 81-67 in favor of the home team as the clock struck 0:00.

By the Numbers

The Gray Wolves held the numbers advantage in most categories, leading in points in the paint (52-28), points off turnovers (19-7), second-chance points (13-8), and bench points (43-8). Lourdes had 11 different players record points throughout the game for a strong team performance.

Blackwell was the primary offensive catalyst for Aquinas in Ohio, scoring 32 points on 10-20 shooting. She scored four of her five three-point attempts while grabbing four rebounds, assisting three field goals, and picking up two steals for a busy afternoon.

This is Blackwell's fifth game this season scoring at least 30 points. She scored her season-high 36 points against Lourdes in the matchup earlier this season.

Wilkes was the other Saint to breach double-digit scoring. She scored 11 points and grabbed two boards while scoring two threes.

Up Next

Aquinas is back on the road this Wednesday (Jan. 31) to take on Lawrence Tech. The game is scheduled to begin at the normal weekday time of 5:30 p.m.