Racers Survive Trip to Cleary with Big Fourth Quarter

LANSING, MI - UNOH women's basketball had to battle back after trailing most of the game to Cleary, but their offense shifted into gear when it mattered most putting up a game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 52-45 win on the road.

The first half was controlled by the Cougars with the Racers trailing by as many as nine before heading to the locker room with a 26-21 deficit. UNOH finally took their first lead of the game at the 4:22 mark of the third quarter, thanks to an 11-3 run that put them up 29-28. That lead didn't last long, though, as Cleary held the slight edge 32-31 entering the final frame. UNOH began the fourth having held the lead for just 1:41 of game time and continued to have to play from behind with less than five minutes to play. Finally, the offense started firing ending the game on a 14-2 run to steal a tight game from the Cougars, 52-45.

Olivia Thompson led all scorers with a career high 19 points. She shot 8-16 from the field while grabbing eight rebounds in the game, also a career high. Alycia Patterson added 15 points and seven rebounds with a season high six steals. Patterson has been one of the most consistent contributors to the Racer offense recently scoring double-figures in nine of their last ten games. Alayha Allen was dominant in the paint once again grabbing 18 rebounds with a season high five assists and one point short of a double-double. Allen is averaging 16.2 rebounds per game in her last five outings and 10.4 per game this season. She now has 156 defensive boards this season, the program's fourth best in a single season and tenth best in the country, with 208 total boards putting her sixth in a single season and 16th in the country this year.

UNOH translated 19 Cougar turnovers into 26 points while holding Cleary to just six off 13. Both teams struggled from three-point but the Racers held a slight edge from the field hitting 32% to just 26%.

The Racers have now won four of their last five games and will look to continue that momentum at home when Madonna visits the Garage Wednesday, January 31 at 5:30 PM.