Women's Basketball 11/14/2015 12:00:00 AM

Women's Basketball holds off IU-South Bend 54-51

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Spring Arbor University women's basketball team posted a 54-51 win over Indiana University-South Bend on Saturday afternoon.

The win improved the Cougars to 3-1 on the young season while the Titans dipped to 4-3 overall.

Indiana-South Bend recorded the game's first bucket, but Spring Arbor would answer with five straight points and not trail the rest of the first half.

After the first quarter, the Cougars led 16-7 and would increase that margin to double-digits, 27-16, with 2:40 remaining in the second period. However, the Titans would outscore SAU 8-0 over the final two minutes of the quarter to close the gap to 27-24 at halftime.

The Cougars quickly boosted the margin back to nine in the early moments of the third quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from junior Karly Bender and sophomore Faith Johnson. The Titans continued to battle, though, and would end the frame on another lengthy run to grab their first lead, 44-43, since the game's opening minutes.

After trading the lead back and forth to begin the fourth quarter, Indiana-South Bend regained control with a quick 4-0 run midway through the period. With the Titans ahead 51-48 and just over a minute remaining, junior Rachel Driesenga hit a jumper to trim the deficit to one. Spring Arbor would come up with a huge defensive stop on IU-SB's next possession, and junior Aimee Konkel would knock down a shot to put the Cougars in front with 25 seconds to play.

Spring Arbor would come away with more defensive stand and convert on its free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory.

"Our girls did a great job grinding this win out," said head coach Ryan Frost. "We made the right plays at the end and were able to get some key stops."

The Cougars shot 37 percent (19-for-52) from the field while the Titans connected on 38 percent (21-for-56) of their attempts. The home team also held a slight edge in rebounds, hauling in 37 compared to SAU's 33.

Townsley paced the Cougars with 16 points while also registering five rebounds and three assists. Driesenga followed with 11 points and a game-high eight boards. Bender finished with eight points and three assists.

Spring Arbor (3-1) will return home to host Great Lakes Christian College on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 5:30 p.m.

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