Box Score The Aurora University women's basketball team took on rival Benedictine University
Wednesday night at AU's Thornton Gymnasium. Unfortunately for the Spartans, BU prevailed in the 65-46 loss for AU.
AU grabbed a 46-43 lead with 9:53 left in the second-half but a cold stretch came over the Spartans as
Benedictine finished the game on a 22-0 run for the win. The Spartans went zero-for-nine in the stretch including zero-for-seven from three-point range.
AU freshman
Bethany Dorrington came out on fire, burying three three-point field goals and scoring the Spartans first 11 points to give them an 11-10 advantage just six minutes into the game.
After the final trey, Benedictine was forced to call a time out and make adjustments. Those adjustments worked well as the Eagles were able to break open a 14 point lead with a 19-4 run.
AU was able to close the gap slightly as Dorrington knocked down her fourth three of the half to cut the lead to just eight, 38-30, just before the halftime intermission.
Going into the break Dorrington led all scorers with 14 points, while also contributing four rebounds. The Eagles were led by Briana Hamilton with nine points.
As play resumed AU continued to chip away at the Benedictine lead and tie the game up at 43, when
Dorrington, once again, hit from long range at the 11:02 mark.
Dorrington's three was followed up by senior
Joree Green connecting on a three of her own to give the Spartans a 46-43 lead with just under 10 minutes to play.
Following the back to back treys Benedictine put the clamps on the Spartan offense. The Eagles closed out the final 10 minutes with a 22-0 run to take the win 65-46.
Dorrington led all scorers with 17 points and tied for the game high with six rebounds. Fellow freshman
Ciara Marlow chipped in 13 points for the Spartans. The Eagles were led by Kam Haifleigh with 12 points. Alanna Ferry added 10 points, five rebounds, and six assists to Haifleigh's 12.
The loss drops the Spartans to 5-11 overall and 2-7 in Northern Athletics Conference play. The win improves Benedictine's record to 7-9 overall and 5-3 in the NAC. The next action for the Spartans will come on Saturday as they travel to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to take on Marian University in another NAC match up. Tip off is slated for 2:00 p.m.
