ELMHURST, Ill. – The MSOE women's basketball team squared off against the Blue Jays of Elmhurst University on Saturday night, as the Raiders led a majority of the contest but were unable to hold off a fourth quarter comeback from the Bluejays and fell 57-54.
 
RESULT

MSOE RAIDERS – 54

Elmhurst University - 57

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Raiders (1-2, 0-0 NACC) jumped ahead of the Bluejays (3-0, 0-0 CCIW) early, going up 18-11 by the end of the first quarter, with Lana Kerley leading the way for the Raiders again, finishing with 21 points, including 12 in the first quarter to put the Red and White in the driver's seat.
• As the Bluejays began to try and chip away at the Raiders lead, the Red and White would expand it, as Dani Mendez got back to work in the paint, hauling in eight rebounds and getting to the free throw line 12 times against Elmhurst as MSOE went into the halftime break ahead 35-21.
• The Blue Jays would narrow the deficit in the third, shrinking the Raiders lead to as little as five points.  More free throws for Mendez and Kerley down the stretch once again pushed the Raiders lead to double digits, as the Red and White finished the third frame ahead 49-36.
• In the fourth quarter, the man-press of the Bluejays began to disrupt the Raiders offense, as they went on a cold streak that allowed the Blue Jays back in the contest with the Raiders leading 51-46 with less than three and a half minutes left on the clock.  After back-to-back MSOE turnovers with under two minutes to play, the Blue Jays would hit a three and take the lead for the first time in the game with 1:08 left to play.  Mendez kept the Raiders in the game late with her clutch free throw shooting and Nina Perl would get one last good look before time expired, but the Blue Jays would complete the comeback, winning 57-54 in the non-conference clash.

MSOE STAT TRACKER
Points – Lana Kerley (21)
Rebounds – Dani Mendez (8)
Assists – Nina Perl (2)
Steals – Four with two

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will return home for a matchup against Mount Mary University on Tuesday, November 26^th.  The action is set for 7:00PM in the Kern Center.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at MSOERaiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.