Ravens Drop Heartbreaker to Lions

The Anderson University women's basketball team dropped a 54-52 heartbreaker to Mount St. Joseph University during Saturday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) matchup in Cincinnati.

With the game tied 52-52 with 4.4 seconds to go, the Lions (8-8, 7-4) inbounded the ball underneath their basket. Morgan Jenkins drove the ball and took a 10-foot floater. The shot hit the back iron and went in for the Lions with 0.9 seconds to go. Anderson (10-7, 7-4) called a timeout to advance the ball, but the Lions sealed the win after intercepting the inbound pass.

Anderson, Mount St. Joseph and Bluffton University (12-5, 7-4) are each tied for third in the HCAC standings. Mount St. Joseph also earned a two-point win on the final possession earlier this season with a 77-75 win on Dec. 3, 2022 in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Lions held a 17-13 lead through one quarter.
• Trailing 20-15 with 8 minutes, 47 seconds left in the second quarter, Anderson posted a 9-0 run during the next 7:05 to take a 24-20 lead. Anderson entered halftime with a 28-26 lead.
• The Ravens took a 31-28 lead with 7:38 left in the third quarter. Mount St. Joseph responded with an 8-0 run during the next 2:32 to take a 36-31 lead.
• Anderson chipped away to tie the game at 39-39 through three quarters.
• The fourth quarter was back and forth as the first nine minutes consisted of six lead changes and one tie.
• Lauren Smith drained a key 3-pointer to tie the game at 52-52 with 1:12 to go.
• On the following possession, Mackinzie Toliver came up with a steal, but Mount St. Joseph managed to record a defensive stop.
• After a pair of timeouts, the Lions inbounded under the basket with 4.4 seconds to go. Jenkins drove the ball and took a 10-foot floater. The shot hit the back iron and went in for the Lions with 0.9 seconds to go.
• After Anderson advanced the ball following a timeout, Anyiah Murphy intercepted the inbound pass to seal the win for Mount St. Joseph.

COACH JON GIN'S COMMENTS

It was far from our best effort [on Saturday]. I don't know if it was because we played second or what, but we just never had it from the tip. We couldn't find any rhythm on offense and credit to Mount St. Joseph; I think they are one of the best defenses in our conference. They made us uncomfortable all game. We tried to mix it up and find a spark, but we couldn't make enough plays down the stretch unfortunately.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Ravens converted just 11-of-21 (52.4 percent) shots from the charity stripe. Mount St. Joseph hit 7-of-10 (70 percent) attempts from the free-throw line.
• The Lions outrebounded the Ravens 52-40. Mount St. Joseph held a 17-9 advantage on offensive rebounds and outscored Anderson 9-4 on second-chance points.
• Mount St. Joseph committed 20 turnovers while Anderson turned the ball over 15 times. The Ravens rolled to a 20-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
• Anderson converted 18-of-56 (32.1 percent) shots from the field while Mount St. Joseph hit 21-of-70 (30 percent) attempts from the floor.
• The Ravens knocked down 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) shots from 3-point range while the Lions made 5-of-29 (17.2 percent) attempts from behind the arc.
• Lauren Smith – 12 Points
• Jade Shipley – 9 Points
• Makynlee Taylor – 6 Points, 7 Rebounds
• Bella Larrison – 6 Points
• Grace Marshall – 5 Points
• Lexi Dellinger – 4 Points, 3 Steals
• Mackinzie Toliver – 2 Points
• Izzy Davis – 2 Points
• Jada Stansberry – 2 Points

UP NEXT

In a key battle for HCAC position, Anderson faces off with Bluffton on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.