Lourdes University basketball standout Macie Stringfellow (Perrysburg). (Ryan Wronkowicz/Lourdes Athletics)
Lourdes secured its spot in the upcoming Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament and matched the school record for wins in a season on Wednesday evening with a 67-50 victory over Rochester (Mich.) in the final home game of the season inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
“Tonight was bigger than even the win,” Lourdes coach Tandy Bradford said. “I’m glad to walk away with a win over a very good Rochester team and do something to help the community with our cancer game. I’m proud of our kids for following our program mission of playing for each other and serving others.”
The Gray Wolves forced 23 Rochester turnovers leading to 21 points and limited the Warriors to just 33.3% shooting, including 2-of-22 (9.1%) from three-point range.
Lourdes slowly built its lead throughout the night. After leading by four after one quarter, the Gray Wolves pushed the lead to eight early in the second and led by as many as ten late in the half before taking a 28-22 lead into the locker room.
Rochester (14-13, 11-10 WHAC) cut its deficit to two with the first four points of the third period, holding Lourdes scoreless for nearly four minutes. The Gray Wolves then responded with the next 11 points to push the lead to 13 and led by 15 in the closing seconds of the quarter.
The Warriors went on a 9-2 run early in the fourth to pull within eight, but Lourdes responded with the next two baskets and never saw its lead cut to single digits the rest of the way.
Emma Pedroza (Napoleon) scored a game-high 17 points while Macie Stringfellow (Perrysburg) tallied her sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Halle Barnett (Sylvania Southview) added 12 points going a perfect 4-for-4 from both the field and the free throw line while Nadeen Jemaa (Perrysburg) added 11 points.
Celeste Mershimer led Rochester with 17 points while Imari Martin had 10 points and Melanie Moore grabbed 10 boards.
Lourdes (11-15, 9-12) will close out its regular season on Saturday afternoon as the Gray Wolves head to Lansing, Mich. to battle Cleary. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. inside Gannon Gymnasium.
