CHICAGO, ILL. -- The Trine University women's basketball team fell to the University of Chicago in overtime in the first game of the two-day Chicago Tournament in Chicago, Ill.
Sophomore Kelsy Taylor (Louisville, Ky./New Albany) led Trine in scoring with a career-high 15 points on six-of-10 shooting (60.0 percent). Fellow sophomore Kayla Wildman (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) also scored in double figures with 12 points to round out the Trine high scorers.
Chicago (3-2) jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the opening minute of the first quarter. Still leading by five points with 7:28 left in the quarter, back-to-back jumpers by Wildman, followed by a layup by junior Shay Herbert (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) gave Trine (2-2) its first lead of the contest by a score of 12-11 at the 5:48 mark. Chicago eventually built a four point advantage late in the frame until a layup by sophomore Rachel Stewart (Clinton Twp., Mich./Eastern) and a triple by freshman Sophie Sloneker (Monroe, Ohio/Monroe) resulted in the Thunder taking a one point edge, 23-22, heading into the second quarter.
In period number two, Trine outscored Chicago, 13-6, in the final seven minutes to hold the advantage for the majority of the quarter that included a large lead of five points following a three-pointer by Wildman to send Trine into the locker rooms with a score of a 38-33.
Trine looked to pull away to begin the third quarter and opened up its lead to as many as nine points on two instances, including a 46-37 margin after a jumper by senior Katy Steers (Portage, Ind./Portage) at the 5:48 mark. The Thunder recorded their first double-digit lead with just over two minutes to go in the period when sophomore Sophia Kreag (Westfield, Ind./Westfield) connected on a three-point attempt to make it a 52-42 game. A pair of free-throws by Taylor ended the scoring in the third quarter and resulted in Trine's lead increasing to 11 points heading into the fourth quarter.
A layup by Wildman to begin the final quarter of regulation gave Trine its largest lead of the game of 13 points, 59-46. The Thunder then went scoreless for the next four-and-a-half minutes which allowed Chicago to decrease the Trine lead to six points before a layup by Stewart put the Thunder out ahead by eight points, 63-55, with 5:16 to go. The Maroons hung around and narrowed the deficit down to just two points, 67-65, with 1:35 remaining. Trine maintained a two-point margin with just six seconds on the clock, but a late foul by the Thunder sent Chicago to the free-throw line with the opportunity to tie the game. The Maroons capitalized on both free-throw attempts to even the score at 68-68 to send the game into overtime.
Chicago began the overtime period with an 8-0 scoring run to take control with a 76-68 lead. A pair of free-throws by Stewart turned out to be the only points for Trine in overtime as Chicago added 11 points to its total which resulted in a 79-70 victory for the Maroons.
Trine will conclude the Chicago Tournament tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 23) with a matchup against Kenyon (Ohio) College. The game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. EST in Chicago, Ill.