QUINCY, Ill. – The Quincy University women's lacrosse team let a five-goal halftime lead slip away on Friday afternoon at QU Stadium, falling 11-10 to Dominican University of California. The Hawks led 7-2 midway through the second quarter and 8-4 in the third before the Penguins rallied with a 7-2 run over the final 22 minutes to hand Quincy the loss.

Quincy answered Dominican's opening goal quickly, as Alaina Wilkinson scored on a man-up opportunity off an assist from MaryGrace Cummings to tie the game at 1-1. After Dominican regained the lead, Elise Bruggeman scored her second career goal and first of the season to even the score at 2-2. The Hawks then closed the opening quarter with back-to-back man-up goals from Anni Moran and Wilkinson to take a 4-2 lead after one.

The Hawks continued to build momentum in the second quarter. Emily Leal opened the scoring with a man-down goal, followed later by Moran and Wilkinson goals to extend the Quincy advantage to 7-2. Dominican scored on a man-up opportunity as time expired in the half, but Quincy still carried a 7-3 lead into the break.

Dominican slowly chipped away in the third quarter. After the Penguins opened with a free-position goal, Moran answered off a Wilkinson assist to push the lead back to four at 8-4. Dominican, however, scored twice in the final three minutes of the quarter, including a man-up goal with 1:42 remaining, to trim the deficit to 8-6 heading into the fourth.

The Penguins completed the comeback in the final quarter. Dominican tied the game at 8-8 with goals at 14:20 and 8:51, but Wilkinson gave Quincy the lead back with a man-down goal at the 8:12 mark. Dominican answered with two straight goals to take its first lead since it was 1-0 at 10-9. Moran tied the game with 1:19 remaining off another assist from Wilkinson, but Dominican scored the game-winner with just 19 seconds left to secure the 11-10 final.

Quincy outshot Dominican 27-21 and held a 21-18 edge in ground balls, but the Hawks committed 24 turnovers and were unable to maintain possession late. Dominican also controlled the draw circle, winning 13 draw controls to Quincy's nine. Both teams had success in extra-player opportunities, with Quincy converting 2-of-4 free-position shots while Dominican went 2-for-5.

Wilkinson led the Hawks offensively with four goals and three assists for seven points while surpassing 100 career points. Moran added four goals of her own, giving the duo eight of Quincy's 10 scores. Leal added a goal, and Bruggeman rounded out the scoring with her second career goal and first of the season.

Defensively, Mikenna Ham continued her historic season with five caused turnovers for the third time this year. Ham now has 28 caused turnovers this season, surpassing Kara Wilhelm for the most caused turnovers in a single season in program history, with still seven games remaining. Leal also delivered a huge defensive effort with career highs of four ground balls and five caused turnovers. Ava Condos finished with seven saves in goal.

The Hawks will begin conference play on Saturday, April 4, when they welcome Missouri Western State to QU Stadium. Opening draw is scheduled for 12:00 PM.