Women's basketball falls to top-ranked Rochester, 64-51

History repeated itself Thursday as the ninth-ranked Wolves found themselves on the losing side yet again to top-ranked Rochester, losing in the NJCAA Division III Tournament Quarterfinals, 64-51.

"Well, the beginning and the end of this game definitely didn't go our way, but I'm proud of this team," said coach Shaun Sanderson. "They represented Joliet well in pursuit of the college's first women's basketball national championship. In the middle portion of this game, we did what we were supposed to do and that's the part that it takes to win the championship."

The Wolves trailed by as much as 17 points late in a game where they never took the lead. At the half, the Wolves trailed 27-23.

Demi Page powered the offense with 12 points while Lovely Tua-Link added 11. Jazlynn Foster added 11 points off the bench for the Wolves.

"I felt like we fought to the end," said Page. "We came up short but we played together in the final minutes."

"This was a personal game for us because we played them before the national game," Foster said in reflection on December's loss to Rochester. "There were definitely mess ups and perfect buckets, but we didn't stop until the last horn of the game. We will be back next year for a national title."

The Wolves shot 34% from the field with just two 3's made on 10 tries. They finished 13-of-17 from the free throw line.

Next up, the Wolves face No. 5 Northland in the consolation bracket on Friday at noon.

"We have nothing to hang our heads about," Sanderson said. "The Magnificent Seven have earned two games that we have to get ready for. So the Wolves will continue to fight."