AURORA, Ill. – The MSOE women's basketball team clashed with the Spartans of Aurora University on Saturday afternoon, as the Raiders comeback came up just short, with the Red and White running out of time in their second consecutive conference loss.

FINAL SCORE

MSOE RAIDERS – 48
Aurora Spartans - 53

HOW IT HAPPENED

• MSOE (10-4, 5-2 NACC) gained the upper hand on Aurora (13-3, 5-2 NACC), after free throws from Dani Mendez gave the Red and White the lead to open the contest.  The Spartans would match the Raiders basket-for-basket down the stretch of the first frame, knotting things up at 7-7, before ending the quarter with the teams deadlocked at 11-11.  The Raiders would go on a 5-1 run to start the second quarter, capped off by an Aleah Butterbrodt three, but the Spartans would respond with a 16-4 run of their own, as the Red and White went to halftime trailing Aurora by nine points at 30-21.
• Coming out of the break, the Raiders would cut into the Spartans lead with an 8-0 run in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter, with free throws from Mendez bookended by three from Lana Kerley and Mahima Chokshi, bringing MSOE within a point at 30-29.  The Spartans would limit the Raiders' offense the rest of the frame, as Aurora held a 46-37 lead with ten minutes left to play in the conference clash.  In the fourth quarter, The Raiders would cut the Aurora lead to five points after a layup from Kerley just before the midway point of the frame.  A layup from Halena Hill would bring the Red and White within a possession with three minutes left to play, but a late turnover from the Raiders and a clutch layup from the Spartans would put the game out of reach for MSOE, who fought until the final possession in the 52-48 loss.

 
MSOE STAT TRACKER
Points – Dani Mendez (13)
Rebounds – Dani Mendez (10)
Assists – Mahima Chokshi (4)
Steals – Three with one
Blocks – Mahima Chokshi (1)

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will host Marian University this Wednesday, January 21^st. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. in the Kern Center.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at MSOERaiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.