MARION, Ind. – The Spring Arbor University women's basketball team gave No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan University a scare on Saturday afternoon inside Luckey Arena, where the Wildcats have only lost once this season.
After trailing by as many 15 in the second half, the Cougars used a 10-2 run to get within seven with less than two minutes to play. However, IWU would score the final four points of the game, hanging on to hand SAU a 66-55 setback.
Sophomore Kylie Townsley finished with a team-high 18 points, five rebounds and three assists while junior Jessica Mabry tallied 14 points and a career-high eight rebounds.
The Cougars fell behind 10-5 early, but Townsley and Mabry fueled a 12-2 run to put the visitors in front 17-12 midway through the first half. The two teams would go back and forth until late in the period as the Wildcats closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a 38-30 lead into the break.
After trading baskets to begin the second half, Mabry would hit back-to-back shots before freshman Faith Johnson buried a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one, 42-41, at the 16:44 mark.
Indiana Wesleyan (17-3, 8-0 Crossroads League) countered, though, with eight straight points before eventually pushing the margin to double digits. With 9:18 remaining, IWU's Erika Isham scored two of her 18 points to give the Wildcats their largest lead of the day, 60-45.
The Cougars would hold the home team to just two points over the next seven and a half minutes, allowing Cara Hoffman and Aimee Konkel to help close the gap to seven, 62-55, with 1:29 left to play. The Wildcats leaned on its top-ranked defense in the final moments, though, to hold off the rally.
Spring Arbor was limited to 34 percent (22-for-64) from the field while Indiana Wesleyan finished shooting 49 percent (27-for-55). The Wildcats also dominated the paint, outscoring the Cougars 42-16.
Konkel chipped in six points off the bench while Hoffman and Johnson added five apiece. Senior Lindsey Burnside grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with three points and two blocks.
Up next, Spring Arbor (6-13, 1-7 Crossroads League) will travel to Indianapolis, Indiana where it will meet No. 10 Marian University on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.
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