Box Score Saturday's game against Hiram College marked the season opener for the Lions as well as the 2nd Annual Lauren Hill Tipoff Classic. This game is played at Xavier University's Cintas Center yearly between Mount St. Joseph and Hiram in remembrance of Lauren Hill and her courageous fight against DIPG. Lauren Hill was an inspiration to everybody she came into contact with and a beacon of hope in the fight against DIPG, as her efforts and courage helped raise millions of dollars to help fund further research on the horrible disease. This year marked the third meeting between the two schools, with each side winning one of the previous match-ups.
Mount St. Joseph got off to a very slow start, being outscored 17-6 in the first quarter. They would let the Hiram lead soar to 16 early on in the second quarter. Hiram started off extremely hot from the field, connecting on 5 of their first 7 attempts from long range, and pushing out to an early advantage.
As the second quarter played out, the Lions began to get rolling, taking the fight back to the Terriers of Hiram. Nonetheless, the Lions went into halftime still down by double digits.
When the Lions came out to begin the second half their offense ignited, as they started the half off with a 9-0 run to bring the score to within two points. The Lions and Terriers would go blow for blow for the remainder of the third quarter and Hiram would take a two point lead into the final frame.
The fourth quarter brought a back and forth slug-fest that featured incredible basketball by both sides. Hiram's lead hovered anywhere between one and six points for the majority of the quarter, but the Lions would not be fought off easily. Finally, in the final minute of the game, with only 49 seconds remaining, Mount St. Joseph took their first lead of the game on a three-point shot by Hayley Hudson.
Hudson's basket was countered by a Hiram three-pointer with barely over ten seconds to play in regulation, forcing overtime.
Overtime featured more back and forth play by both teams and once again, the end of the period came down to the wire. The Lions would again take the lead with under a minute to play before Hiram hit another three-point basket to tie the game back up at 60. Mount St. Joseph would once again grab the lead on a Ciera Phillips layup, this time with only six seconds remaining.
However, Mount St. Joseph's outstanding effort would not be enough. With time running out, Erica Johnson put up a short shot on the right side of the basket and hit a game-tying bucket. She was also fouled on the play and would convert the free throw, giving Hiram the lead with one second remaining.
The Lions will be back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Berea. Tipoff will be at 5:30 PM.
Thank you to everybody who came out and supported the Lions in the 2nd Annual Lauren Hill Tipoff Classic. Please continue to help us in the push for finding a treatment and cure to DIPG so we can help complete Lauren's mission.
