Pat-Med Girls Hoops Earn Comeback Win Over Longwood

After trailing most of the night, the Pat-Med girls stormed back in the fourth quarter behind 10 points from Aileen Yaeger to give the Raiders their first win of the season, defeating Longwood 43-38 Tuesday night.

Although Yaeger's fourth quarter performance was memorable, it was Jackie Moekler's three-point play with 17.3 seconds remaining that gave Pat-Med (1-5) its first win of the season. "I was really nervous when I got the ball," said Moekler. "I just ran as fast as I could and everyone just crowded over me. It was probably one of the best feelings of my varsity career."

"We battled in the fourth quarter," said Pat-Med head coach Jeff Hansen. "At the end of the third quarter, we were down seven and we were acting like we were down 15 or 20 points. We picked up the pressure on the defense and we were able to finally hit to hit some free-throws and that got us back into the game."

It was a happy ending for the Raiders, but it did not start out that way. The first half was highly a highly contested defensive game for both teams. Pat-Med led 9-8 after the first quarter. The Raiders had ample opportunities to take control of the game early in the second quarter, but could not find the bucket. Longwood took the lead on a paid of free-throws by Jessica Kalbfliesh, who finished with seven points. Pat-Med's Kendal Collins answered back with a 3-pointer to tie the game, 12-12. The basket led to a 9-0 run, extending their lead, 18-12.

Longwood returned fire with a run of their own. A three-point play by Aliyah Blake tied the game, 18-18. Longwood took advantage of the Raiders' inability to stay away from fouls, and took the lead, 20-18, closing the half with an 8-0 run.

Defense was the story of the third quarter. After Pat-Med opened the scoring tying the game at 20, they were unable to score again. Longwood answered right back with a three-pointer from Emily Garrahan, who had a team high 11 points. She added another 3-point shot that extended Longwood's lead, 27-20.

Things looked bleak for the Raiders early in the fourth. Longwood extended their lead by 10, 34-24. The Raiders bunkered down on defense while letting their offense come alive, led by Yaeger's 10 points. After the Raiders showed life, Yaeger hit a huge 3-pointer to cut Longwood's lead to just three, 34-31. Kierstin Berwick cut the lead to just one, but Longwood answered back quickly, extending their lead, 36-31.

"When [Yaeger] hit that three I think the girls started to believe that we could pull this off, and we did," said Hansen.

"I try and not let my emotions get in the way when I play," said Yaeger. "I do what I can do for the team and hope for the best. Hopefully this carries over to the next game and we get another win."

The Raiders tied the game when Kira Murray hit a field goal, then followed it up moments later with a free-throw. Then Moekler went coast-to-coast to give Pat-Med the lead, 39-36. The Raiders never looked back, and locked the game up, 43-38.

"We're going to enjoy this today, enjoy it tomorrow at practice, and then get ready for the next game and hopefully take that positive feeling of how we won that game and that we're more than capable of playing with anyone, and hopefully take that to the next level," said Hansen.

Check the for highlights from the game.