MADISON, Wis. – Edgewood College started the second half on a 6-0 run to take a 27-25 lead Saturday afternoon at the Edgedome but would never lead from there on out, falling 69-52 to Benedictine University to drop to 9-11 overall and 8-7 in the NACC. Mariah Hill and Hannah Menzia combined to score 29 points in the effort.
Edgewood College scored first and led for the first 2:29 but Benedictine would hold a lead until the 6:13 mark in the first half, when Courtney Spangler hit a jumper in the paint to go up 16-15. Hannah Menzia would stretch the lead to four after draining a three-pointer one possession later, but Benedictine would use a 10-2 run to end the half to lead 25-21.
Mariah Hill would come out firing to open the second half, hitting three jumpers in the team's first four possessions to give Edgewood College a 27-25 lead. Benedictine would snag two offensive rebounds on their next possession before Alanna Ferry converted on a layup to tie things at 27 with 16:18 left. Benedictine would then go on a 14-5 run to take control midway through the second half, capped by a DeKayla Crayton jumper in the paint to go up 43-32 with 10:24 remaining.
Edgewood College would never get closer than seven points the rest of the way. Ellyn Hayden hit a pair of free throws to make it 47-40 with 7:42 left but Michelle Batty responded and hit a three to make it a 10-point game again. Benedictine would go 15-for-20 from the charity stripe from that point on.
Hill finished with a team-high 15 points on 7-of-19 shooting, while Menzia was the only other Edgewood College player in double figures with 14 on 5-of-11 shooting. Menzia finished 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Spangler reached double digits in rebounds (10) and chipped in six points. The Eagles were hurt by a poor performance at the free throw line, going just 8-for-17 (47.1%) in the game for their worst effort this season.
Meghan Novak led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including a 2-for-6 showing from deep. Crayton (13) and Batty (10) were the other Benedictine players in double figures.
Edgewood College is tied with Marian for sixth place in the NACC with identical 8-7 league records. Edgewood College will get back into action Tuesday, Feb. 3 at MSOE. Game time is set for 7 pm.
