Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - After a Katie Clark jumper with 1:09 left cut the Hopkins deficit to one, 59-58, an inadvertent foul by Liz Tommasi 85 feet from the basket sent McDaniel to the line, where Brittney Davis calmly sank two free throws. On the next possession, Stacy Fairey's open three-point attempt rimmed out, leading to a pair of made free throws by Lindsey Nichols. Nichols made two more following a Hopkins turnover, before Davis knocked in the final two, giving McDaniel a 68-57 win.

Hopkins started the game strong, jumping out to an 11-8 lead eight minutes into the game. But McDaniel would go on an 11-2 run, and take a 19-13 lead following an Alyssa March free throw. Beatriz Williams finally stopped the bleeding for the Jays, with an and-1 to cut the deficit to three.

After a Nichols jumper, Williams answered with another layup. Nichols then went on a 5-0 run, banging in a deep three and hitting a nice jumper following a Jessica Brown turnover. But Hopkins would use consecutive layups by Tommasi and Fairey to cut the margin to four, 26-22, going into halftime.

Coming out of the intermission, Katie Clark nailed two jumpers to tie the game at 26. From there, McDaniel went on a quick 9-3 run, punctuated by a Jasmine Smith layup.

The Jays would answer though, with a Haley Bush layup. On the next possession, a steal by Alyssa Fleming led to a Clark bucket and the margin was two. But Nichols would answer with another three, making up for her turnover on the previous possession.

The two teams would then trade baskets, with the lead jumping back and forth, twice, from five to three. Nichols finally pushed the lead to six with another deep three. But Hopkins answered with a six point spurt, using a basket by Fleming and two Tommasi layups to tie the game for the fifth time, 45-45, with 8:41 remaining.

On the next possession, March would get an old-fashioned three-point-play and give the Green Terror the lead again. The next time down the floor, Nichols committed the ultimate basketball sin, fouling a jump shooter. This time it was Brown whom she fouled, and the penalty was three shots, which Brown nailed, tying the game back at 48.

With the crowd growing increasingly anxious, the game was reaching its peak, as the clock finally hit the seven minute mark in the second half.

Maggie Fruehan gave the home fans something to cheer about, when she took a Ciara McCullagh pass and converted the layup, giving the Jays their first lead since 11-10 in the first half.

But Nichols wouldn't go quietly, as she nailed a jumper on the other end. Clark responded with a bucket of her own, and Nichols answered with an and-1, giving McDaniel the lead, 53-52, with 5:58 left to play.

On the subsequent possession, Hopkins got three looks at the basket, but Tommasi, Fruehan and Clark couldn't find the bottom of the net, and the score remained.

Clearly annoyed at the lack of converting on the offensive end, Tommasi upped the ball pressure, stole the ball from Jasmine Smith and headed down towards the other end. With an open Fruehan next to her, Tommasi dished off, but Fruehan missed. Trailing the play from behind, Bush was there for a big offensive rebound and put-back, putting the Jays back on top with 4:40 left.

The next McDaniel possession saw Steph Perez miss an open three attempt, but March beat Bush to the rebound, and Bush fouled her, leading to March splitting the pair of free-bees, tying the game at 54.

After a miss by Tommasi, Nichols drew another foul on Bush and sank the two free throws. Williams would answer for the Jays, using a nice one-dribble pull-up to tie the game at 56.

The two teams would trade missed shots on the next two possessions, before Nichols, with a hand in her face, buried her fourth three of the game.

Clark pulled the Jays within one on the next possession, nailing a left baseline jumper, before Tommasi's foul with 1:03 left.

Nichols, who came into the game as the second leading scorer in the conference averaging 18.4 points per game, led all scorers with a career-high 29 and added four rebounds and steals to her stat line, as well.

Clark and Tommasi led the way for the Jays, each scoring 14 points on a combined 12-24 from the field. The junior backcourt pair also combined for 10 rebounds and five assists.

In a game that saw 10 ties and seven lead changes, Hopkins dominated the backboard, outrebounding McDaniel 52-31 on the night. McCullagh led the way with 10 in just 19 minutes of work off the bench, while Fruehan and Williams added nine each.

But the Jays shot themselves in the foot, committing 23 turnovers on the night, 14 of which came in the first half. Meanwhile, McDaniel protected the ball like a mother protects her newborn, committing just six turnovers on the night.

The Jays will next be in action Saturday afternoon, as they host Haverford for a 3 pm game.