Harper falls victim to Oakton's strong second half
Oakton has the knack of making life frustrating for the Harper women's basketball team.
On Dec. 4, the host Raiders send the Hawks home with a 66-53 loss.
On Thursday night at Harper's Sports and Wellness Center, the Raiders were villains again, rallying from a 10-point deficit to hand the Hawks a 60-57 defeat.
“When you play a game you should have won it's frustrating,” said Hawks coach Mark Smith.
The Hawks (5-7) received some good news when 5-foot-11 Sara Kellermeyer returned to action at the 14:26 mark of the first half. Kellerymeyer, who had been sidelined with an ankle injury she suffered against McHenry College, scored her first points four minutes later and finished with 10 points.
Sophomore Siobhan Cerney (2 points) had to go to the bench after picking up her third foul with 11:41 remaining in the first half.
The Hawks led 29-19 late in the first half and the Raiders (8-4) were struggling from the field. But the Raiders scored 5 quick points, including a 3-pointer by Paula Elum and Ebony Ward's steal and layup to pull the Oakton within 5 points at intermission.
The Raiders continued their hot shooting to open the second half, netting 13 of the first 15 points.
“You've got to close out halfs, ”Smith said. “We are going to have games like this.”