ALLIANCE, Ohio - The Mount Union women's basketball team faced a 73-60 loss to Ohio Athletic Conference opponent #9 ranked Ohio Northern in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex Saturday afternoon. 

The Purple Raiders (9-8, 4-6 OAC) were led by junior Erin White (West Chester/Lakota East) with 12 points and five rebounds. 

Ohio Northern's (17-0, 10-0 OAC) Britt Lauck led the Polar Bears with 20 points and three rebounds. 

Ohio Northern put four points on the board before White cut the lead to two after making a layup just over two minutes into the first quarter. The Raiders took their first lead with just over five minutes left after sophomore Anna Alkire (Massillon/Jackson) fought for and won a ball on the floor, which she then handed off to sophomore (Columbus/Westerville North) Hannah Ferguson in the Raiders' defensive end. Ferguson found senior Kelsey Scott (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) who made a layup, giving Mount Union a 7-6 edge over the Polar Bears. The quarter saw two additional lead changes, but the Raiders led Ohio Northern 14-13 after the first ten minutes. 

Scott made a layup to begin the second quarter, but Ohio Northern responded with a layup and jump shot to take a 17-16 lead. Sophomore Rachel Tinkey (Canfield/Canfield) made a three-point jump shot to tie the game at 19 apiece with 8:13 on the clock. Mount Union stayed within three points of the Polar Bears for the next five minutes, and tied the game again at 28 points after junior Casey Morrissette (Wakeman/Firelands) sunk a three-pointer. Ohio Northern responded with 11 unanswered points, leaving the Raiders behind at halftime with a score of 39-28.

A three-point jump shot, followed by two free throws by senior Abbey Bartoszewicz (Wexford, Pa./Vincentian Academy), cut Ohio Northern's lead to five points (43-38) with 7:02 remaining in the period. A 16-8 run by the Polar Bears had Mount Union trailing by 13, 59-46, leading into the final ten minutes of play. 

Freshman Tori Rappach (Warren/Howland) made back-to-back three-pointers in the opening minutes of the final quarter to cut Ohio Northern's lead to 10. Sophomore Jaime Sanborn (Twinsburg/Twinsburg) made three free throws, followed by a three-pointer by Tinkey to come within six points of the Polar Bears, 64-58, with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. Ohio Northern scored nine more points to Mount Union's two, resulting in a 73-60 loss for the Raiders. 

Mount Union travels to University Heights, Ohio on Wednesday, Jan. 25 for an OAC match-up against John Carroll University at 7:30 p.m.