Link to Daily Herald Article
PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper women’s basketball team took a commanding 34-13 lead into halftime on Tuesday night against Morton College and held on for a 58-45 victory.
Harper (4-3) played well in the opening minutes, jumping out to a 17-9 lead. In the final 7:31 of the half, the Hawks closed on a 17-4 run for a 21-point lead. Joslyn Nicholson (/Cary-Grove) scored 14 of her game-high 16 points in the first half, and Lane Winkler (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) scored all nine of her points in the first half.
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The Hawks forced 17 Panther turnovers in the first half and held their opponents to just 20 percent (6-of-30 shooting). Harper shot a solid 48.3 percent (14-of-29) from the floor in the half.
Morton (0-6) slowly chipped away at the lead in the second half, as Harper had trouble taking care of the ball (17 turnovers in half). They cut it to 52-42 on a pair of Leslie Ellis (team-high 12 points) free throws with 2:43 remaining and closed to 52-45 on a 3-pointer, but Nastia Solsaa (/Menomonie ) made 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to help seal the victory. Solsaa scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half and also had six rebounds and five assists.
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Ashonte Sims (/Normal Community West) scored nine points off the bench for Harper, and Kim Herzog (/Buffalo Grove) and Marisa Andreuccetti (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Conant) chipped in six and four points, respectively.
With the win, the Hawks are back above .500 at 4-3 and take the court again on Saturday at South Suburban College (4-2). Tipoff is set for 1 PM.
