MADISON, Wis. – The Edgewood College women's basketball team clawed their way back from a nine-point deficit with 11:00 remaining in the second half to secure a one-point lead with just 2:59 left but failed to hold on in a 67-62 home loss to Concordia Wisconsin Tuesday evening.
Mariah Hill gave the Eagles a pair of free throws to go up 55-54 for the Eagles' first lead since the 14:54 mark of the first half, but the Falcons' Madelyn Landgraf hit a shot from deep just under one minute later to kill the momentum that the Eagles' had built in the second half of the final period. Rachel Pope came down one possession later and failed to convert on a layup while Megan Coenen stretched the Falcons' lead to four after a jumper on the other end.
The Eagles would never get closer than four points from there on out. Hannah Menzia hit a jumper with 27 seconds left to make it 61-57 but the Falcons would hit their final six free throws. Pope hit a jumper and a triple in the final 21 seconds but by then the Falcons had the win all but secured because of their effort from the charity stripe. They finished the game 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line and shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53) overall.
No team had a lead of more than six points in the first half until Concordia Wisconsin freshman Katelyn Sewall hit one of her three three-pointers with 2:39 left in the half to go up 33-25. Sewall would hit two free throws shortly after to give the Falcons a double digit lead, but Pope would score five points in the final moments of the half to make it 36-31 Falcons heading to the locker room.
The Falcons scored first in the second half to go up seven but the Eagles tied it up at 42 following a three-pointer from Jazmin Little with 14:32 left in the game. Just 3:30 later the Falcons had pushed their lead back to nine. The Eagles slowly chipped away at the Falcons lead on points from six different players, including Hill's free throws that gave the Eagles the one-point lead.
Pope finished with 21 points, her fourth 20-point game of the year, on 7-of-21 shooting. Ellyn Hayden had her third game in double figures for the Eagles by finishing up with 12 on 6-of-11 shooting. Sierra Jiran (8) and Courtney Spangler (7) led the Eagles in rebounding.
Sewall wound up with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including a 3-of-6 showing from beyond the arc. She was one of four Falcons in double figures, joining Brianna Wagner (14), Landgraf (13), and Coenen (11). Wagner also snagged 12 rebounds for the game's only double-double.
The Eagles will get back into action Saturday, Jan. 24 at Dominican University. The showdown is scheduled for a 2 pm start from Igini Sports Forum.
