IMMACULATA, Pa. - The Immaculata University women's basketball team had a chance to send Saturday's non-conference contest with Washington College to overtime on its last possession with under ten seconds remaining in regulation, but the Shorewomen defense stood tall to come away with a 45-40 win over the Mighty Macs at Alumnae Hall. In a game that featured 13 lead changes, neither side was able to pull away in the tightly-contested matchup as the largest lead of the afternoon was just seven points.

Theresa Kearney and Shannon Kelly led the Macs with eight points apiece, while Amber Ballinger poured in seven of her own to go along with a game-high nine rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Shorewomen scored the first four points of the game, but the Mighty Macs responded with an 8-2 run to take their first lead of the game that included threes from Annie Kohutka and Amber Ballinger. Kearney added her first three of the afternoon in the final moments of the opening quarter as the Macs took a 13-12 lead into the second.
-Shannon Kelly netted five points on consecutive possessions in the early stage of the second quarter before a Kearney trey and a Kohutka free throw gave the Macs a game-high seven-point lead at the 4:16 mark. The Shorewomen countered with a 7-0 run over the final 3:47 of the half to knot the game at 22-all heading into the break.
-Natalie Ayoub opened the second half with a pair of free throws and a jumper in the paint to put the Macs back up by four, but Washington answered right back to post a 12-5 run the rest of the way in third quarter to take a three-point lead heading into the final ten minutes.
-Kelly opened the fourth with a quick three to even the score at 34 before Kearney regained the Mighty Mac lead with a close-range jumper. The Macs clung to that two-point lead with three minutes remaining, but Washington battled back to take back the lead on a Kristi Kozlowski lay-in before Madeline Williams converted on a pair of free throws with 22 seconds remaining to jump ahead by three.
-The Macs had one final possession with ten seconds left to tie the game with a three, but Kearney's attempt from beyond the arc fell short as Washington escaped with the 45-40 victory.

TEAM COMPARISON
-The non-conference tilt featured 13 lead changes.
-The Mighty Macs shot 28.6% (14-49) from the field while holding the Shorewomen to a 27.8% (15-54) clip.
-The Shorewomen shot 61.9% (13-21) from the free throw line. The Macs converted on an even 50% (6-12) of its chances from the line.
-Washington forced IU into 20 turnovers while only committing 12 of its own. The Shorewomen finished the afternoon with 12 steals.
-The Macs held the edge on the boards, 35-27.
-The Shorewomen scored 10 points off turnovers compared to the Macs' four.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
-Points: Kearney/Kelly 8, Ballinger/Ayoub 7
-Assists: Kearney 3, Ballinger/Kohutka 2
-Rebounds: Ballinger 9, Rigo 7, Ayoub 6

UP NEXT
-Immaculata (4-6) travels to Rowan Thursday for a non-conference matchup scheduled for 6 p.m.