Despite trailing by as much as 18 points at one point in the third quarter, the Wolves battled back to make it a close game at the end. Ultimately, the rally fell short as the Joliet Junior College women's basketball team fell to College of DuPage, 74-72, at home.
Sophomore center
Kiyah Robertson carried the Wolves (9-10), scoring 35 points and recording 12 total rebounds as the Wolves did everything they could to stay in the game. She finished 9-for-9 at the foul line.
"I told my team I was going to give them more and give them everything I have," she said after the game.Â
The Wolves trailed 73-71 with seconds on the clock, fouling to allow DuPage to go 1-for-2 at the foul line to make it a three-point game. After a timeout, the Wolves wanted to go for a three, but the DuPage defense would not budge as the Wolves settled for a missed layup from
Olivia Rafalski instead. She drew the foul and went 1-for-2 herself at the line with less than half a second left.
"We were looking for a three but the way their defense was set up, there was no way we were going to get that three," Robertson said. "Olivia was open."
"We should have never been in that situation, but we were," said Wolves coach
Shaun Sanderson. "There's moments in the game when they're (feeling) down but then when they realize we can possibly win this, there's a burst of energy. That's part of being a young team and we've got to work through that."
The Wolves trailed, 17-16, after the opening frame and slipped further behind by halftime, 43-34. DuPage extended that lead by 18 points in the third before the Wolves rallied.
Sophomore
Kiera Hunt hit a pair of late threes that helped keep the game close. Hunt finished with 12 points, all from beyond the arc on seven attempts.
The Wolves shot 45% on the night and 67% at the free throw line.
Next up, the Wolves travel to Madison College on Tuesday for a 5 p.m. tip.
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