Mustangs battle with eighth-ranked Pride

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Mount Mercy women's basketball team showed they can play with some of the best, going toe-to-toe with eighth-ranked Clarke before ultimately falling, 75-61 inside Hennessey Rec. Center on Thursday night. 

After the first quarter, Mount Mercy (6-5, 2-4 Heart) trailed by four knocking down both their 3-point attempts from Madison Dreckman and Annika Headington. The Mustangs proceeded to outscore the Pride, 15-12 in the second quarter, highlighted by a Sammy Mia jumper with :32 seconds remaining to pull Mount Mercy within one 33-32 at the break. 

Headington's layup on Mount Mercy's first possession of the second half gave the Mustangs the lead 34-33, their first since the 8:49 mark in the second quarter. The Pride took the lead back and extended it to six points on multiple occasions, but the Mustangs didn't shy away. Consecutive 3-pointers from Headington and Deja Antoine made it a one possession game, 53-50 with 7:31 to play. Clarke (9-2, 4-2 Heart) held Mount Mercy scoreless for the next two and a half minutes, which allowed the Pride to pull away, creating their first double-digit lead of the game at 64-53 and never looked back. 

Mount Mercy (42.6 percent) shot better than Clarke (39.7%) from the field, but a 20-rebound and points in the paint advantage proved to be the difference in the game. The Pride also had a 15-2 edge in second chance points. Headington paced all players with 20 points, going 7-for-10 from the field including 3-for-4 from behind the arc. Mia added 16 points and Antoine chipped in 10, while Anais Bonnemaison had a team best eight rebounds. Clarke was led by Tina Ubl who finished with 18 points. Nicole McDermott added 14 and grabbed an impressive 17 boards to go along with seven assists. 

The Mustangs have a short turnaround as Park (Mo.) (3-8, 1-5 Heart) travels to Hennessy Rec. Center on Saturday, Dec. 17 for a Heart matchup beginning at noon.