Grand Rapids, Mich. – Aquinas battled its rival, Cornerstone University, tonight (Feb. 21) after honoring
Alona Blackwell's incredible accomplishment as the new single-season record holder. The Saints were riding a four-game winning streak coming into the game and were looking to continue their late-season push.
It was a close matchup between the two teams but, ultimately, Cornerstone escaped the Sturrus Center with the win.
The result snapped AQ's win streak and moved the Saints to 12-15 on the season. The result locks Aquinas into the seventh or eighth seed depending on the outcome of the final game this upcoming Saturday.
Cornerstone 78, Aquinas 75
AQ started the contest with a five-point edge after a
Claire Gregwer jumper and a three-point play from Blackwell. A couple of Olivia Kubik threes for the Golden Eagles quickly erased the AQ lead and put CU in the lead. Another Kubik three had Cornerstone ahead by six as the clock expired in the first quarter.
Kubik's hot start to the game continued into the second quarter as she scored five quick points to bring her point total to 18. Cornerstone took as much as a 10-point lead, but an eight-point run from Aquinas effectively erased the deficit with just under three minutes to play.
A couple of minutes later, Blackwell swished a clean three for her 16th point of the night and gave Aquinas its first lead since early in the first quarter. The Golden Eagles tied it up with a pair of free throws, but
Ashlyn Wilkes responded with a three to put AQ back ahead. The half came to a close with the score 36-35 in favor of Aquinas.
The second half started with Cornerstone controlling the pace of the game. The Golden Eagles ran out to a double-digit lead until Blackwell ended the run with a three-point play. A Blackwell three got Aquinas within six, but a Cornerstone three at the buzzer had AQ down by 10 with a quarter to play.
Jenna Daschke scored a three and then a deep two a couple of minutes later to spark some late momentum for Aquinas. The two gave Daschke her 14th point of the game, a career-high for the senior.
Wilkes scored another three to cut the deficit to just five, but CU responded with a jumper as neither team seemed to be able to miss. AQ's hot streak continued as Daschke scored another three to make it a one-possession game with just two minutes to go. The Saints forced a turnover and
Ciara Hardy drove to the basket to make it a one-point game.
With just seconds remaining, Blackwell had the opportunity to tie up the game at the free throw line but uncharacteristically missed both free throws. CU scored one of its free throws to take a three-point advantage.
By the Numbers
The box score was tight between the two teams as AQ led in bench points (21-14), shooting percentage (38.7%-38.2%), three-point percentage (43.5%-36.8%), and assists (23-16). Cornerstone won the game in the trenches, outrebounding Aquinas 57-45 and outscoring AQ in the paint 36-24.
Blackwell played all 40 minutes in her final game inside the Sturrus Center. She tallied 25 points, scored four threes, grabbed seven rebounds, dished seven assists, blocked a shot, and had a steal for a hectic night.
Daschke had a career night, scoring a career-best of 17 points with a pair of threes, two rebounds, and two assists.
Wilkes attempted 11 threes, scoring four threes and totaling 16 points on the night.
Up Next
Aquinas will conclude the regular season this weekend (Feb. 24) with a road matchup against Concordia. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
