VALIANT FOURTH-QUARTER COMEBACK NOT ENOUGH AS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL FALLS AT OTTAWA

OTTAWA, Kan. – After being down by as many as 26 points, Avila women's basketball staged a near-miraculous fourth-quarter comeback, but just ran out of time, losing to Ottawa, 81-74.

Avila was unable to get much offense going in the first half and trailed by 19 at the half.

Ottawa stretched its lead to as high as 26 points with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

With three strong upperclassmen leaders on the squad, Avila did not give up and mounted quite the comeback in the final 12 minutes. The Eagles ended the third quarter on a 5-0 run and used that small amount of momentum in their comeback attempt in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles stayed neck-and-neck in the first part of the fourth quarter, but it was the final four-plus minutes where Avila's comeback attempt took shape.

Beginning at the 4:21 mark, Avila would spend the next four minutes on a 12-0 run to cut the Ottawa lead to seven.

An Ottawa timeout preceded a pair of Braves free throws to push the lead to eight. Out of a Remy Wolfe timeout, Kathleen Stanley knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead back down to six.

Avila's fortune ran out there, as Ottawa knocked in a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach with 10 seconds remaining.

Ottawa's 16 made three-pointers were the difference in the game, compared to just four from Avila.

Off the bench, freshman Ava Hughes put up a career-high 19 points and freshman point guard Talia Dyson pulled down a career-best 12 rebounds.

Madilyn Melton tied Hughes for the Avila scoring lead, putting up 19 of her own, while Marlie Wright scored 15 with eight boards.

With the regular season winding down, Avila has three-straight home games, the first of which coming this Saturday versus Bethel. Tipoff from Mabee Fieldhouse is slated for 1 PM.

(photo credit: Ali Nassir)