Lady Wolves' Comeback Bid Falls Short as They Lose to Multnomah 64-60
Charles Fletcher- Sports Writer
College Place, Wash- The Multnomah Lions (5-14, 3-8) snapped their seven game losing streak on Saturday night against Walla Walla (2-15, 0-12).
By the Numbers
- The Lions' attack was led by Faith Kraatz who tallied 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
- Miranda Schmillen also had a good night for the Lions, tacking on 12 points and 7 rebounds.
- Emily Downs had a superb night for the Wolves, scoring 20 points while adding 8 rebounds and 5 steals.
- The Wolves won the turnover battle by a hefty margin, taking the ball away 21 times while only giving it up 13 times.
How it Happened
The Lions came out of the gate hot, scoring in their first 2 possessions and opening up a 5-0 lead, forcing Wolves head coach Paul Jessup to call an early timeout. The Wolves managed to stay within striking distance despite the Lions' hot shooting, as five straight points from Emily Downs cut the Wolves' deficit to four at 12-16. The Lions held a 20-14 lead heading into the second quarter. Walla Walla constructed a solid run to start the second quarter, cutting the Lions' lead down to just three at 23-20. Coming out of a Multnomah timeout, Alyssa Blankenship drained a triple to knot the game up at 23. The Wolves took their first lead of the game with one minute to play in the half when Emily downs sunk a mid-range jumper to give Walla Walla a 29-27 lead. The Lions would re-claim a narrow lead before the half, however, as the two teams headed into the break with Multnomah leading 33-31.
The Lions came out of the halftime break to rattle off eight straight points and open up a 10 point lead. The Lions maintained this lead for much of the quarter until the Wolves began to climb back in the final minutes. The Lions headed into the fourth quarter with a 47-44 lead. Walla Walla completed their comeback in the early stages of the fourth quarter, regaining the lead at 51-49. Their lead would be short-lived, however, as the Lions' shooting helped them take it back at 56-53 with three minutes remaining in the contest. Emily Downs turned the game into a nail-biter when she sunk a baseline jumper to pull the Wolves within one at 57-58 with a minute and a half remaining in the game. Multnomah managed to pull of the victory, however, stealing a 64-60 victory.
Up Next
The Lady Wolves will now look ahead to a matchup against Corban University on January 27 at 12:30 p.m. in Salem, Oregon.