ALLIANCE, Ohio – Mount Union's women's basketball team lost 66-62 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon.
Before the game Mount Union recognized seniors
Dae Dae Nash (Akron / Buchtel),
Hailey Haywood (Barberton) and
Ali Hudik (Mentor / Lake Catholic).
The Purple Raiders (12-13, 7-11 OAC) had three players score in double figures with freshman
Chelsea Evanich (Alliance / Marlington) and sophomore
Elizabeth Mason (Alliance / Marlington) leading the way with 13 points apiece with freshman
Lily Scott (Youngstown / Ursuline) adding in 10 to round out the Raiders in double digits.
The Polar Bears (18-7, 14-4 OAC) were led by Mackenzie Suprano and Emerson Gray who both scored a game-high 16 points and Abi Akamine added in 13.
Mount Union jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the first quarter before Ohio Northern would score back-to-back baskets to claim a 7-5 lead with five minutes remaining in the quarter. Both teams would go back and forth over the final five minutes of the quarter with the Raiders grabbing a 15-12 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Polar Bears would open the second quarter with a massive 24-2 run over 8:25 of game time to take the largest lead of the game at 36-17 with 2:05 left to play in the first half. Mount Union would close the quarter with a 7-3 run to cut into the lead making it 39-24 heading into the halftime break.
The Raiders would come out firing in the second half going on a 15-2 run over the first five minutes to cut the lead down to two halfway through the third quarter. Ohio Northern would maintain their narrow lead over the final five minutes of the quarter and would stretch it back out to seven heading into the fourth and final quarter of action.
Mount Union would once again close the gap to open the fourth quarter cutting the lead to 52-50 with 7:22 left to play. However, the Polar Bears would once again push their lead back out to nine with a 10-3 run over the next 3:54, making the lead 62-53 with 3:28 remaining in the game. The Raiders would rally once again going on a 9-4 run to close the game and cutting the lead to two with just two second remaining, but their comeback would fall just short as Ohio Northern would go on to win 66-62.
The Raiders finish the season with a 12-13 record overall and a 7-11 record in OAC play.
