QUINCY, Ill. - The Quincy University women's basketball team opened the 2019-20 season with a nail-biter against Ursuline College in Midwest Regional Crossover action on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 9). The Arrows hit a layup off a sideline out-of-bounds play with one second left to defeat the Hawks 69-67 at Pepsi Arena.
Aleksandra Petrovic led the Hawks with 15 points and 8 rebounds, while
Maddie Spagnola scored 14 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.
How It Happened
Quincy played from behind for the majority of the first two quarters. The Arrows went ahead 13-4 with 6:12 remaining in the opening quarter before the Hawks made a run.
Aleksandra Petrovic got things rolling for the Hawks when she converted a three-point play to start a 9-2 run.
Dami Adeyinka ended the run with a layup in transition to bring the Hawks within two at 15-13.
The momentum quickly turned back to Ursuline, as the visiting team ended the first quarter on a 14-point run. The Arrows led 29-13 heading to the second period.
Amanda Porth knocked down a jumper on QU's first possession as the Hawks started the quarter off on the right foot. Ursuline proceeded to heat up, increasing their lead to 17.
Quincy stepped up to the challenge, cutting the Arrows lead to single digits before halftime. Freshman
Laney Lantz drained a three with four minutes remaining to make the score 34-25.
Dami Adeyinka ended the first half by hitting an off-balance layup with two seconds left. The sophomore guard took the contact and converted the three-point play. The Hawks went into halftime trailing 37-30.
The Arrows came out of the break on a 7-2 run, stretching their lead back to twelve.
Aleksandra Petrovic knocked down two free throws and nailed a jumper the next time down the floor to make the score 44-36.
Both teams traded buckets over the next seven minutes, as the Hawks found themselves down 57-47 heading into the final quarter.
The Hawks tightened up on defense and used timely offense to get back in the game in the fourth quarter.
Quincy forced five turnovers in a seven-minute span and converted defense into offense.
Maddie Spagnola and
Dami Adeyinka hit back-to-back threes with just under four minutes left to cut the Arrows lead to two, 62-60.
Ursuline went back up by three, but the Hawks responded.
Grace Schraufnagel's work on the offensive end paid off, as she scored a put-back layup to bring QU within one.
The Arrows came down and missed a layup, and the Hawks were off and running.
Maddie Spagnola went the length of the floor and fought through contact to hit a fast break layup from the left side. The junior guard from Elgin, Illinois hit the free throw to give the Hawks their first lead of the game, 67-65.
Ursuline tied the game with nine seconds remaining and the Hawks called their last timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Arrows earned a defensive stop and called their last timeout with 2.5 seconds remaining.
The visiting team executed their sideline out-of-bounds play to perfection. Julia Cardwell run under an over-the-top pass and hit a layup with one second remaining to put the Arrows up 69-67.
That score stood, as the Hawks last-second heave missed the mark.
Stat Leaders
Aleksandra Petrovic - 15 points, 8 rebounds
Maddie Spagnola - 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
QU's Record
0-1
Up Next
The Hawks are back in action tomorrow (Nov. 10) as they host the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m. at Pepsi Arena.
