A dominant fourth quarter sparked a Women's Basketball comeback win against No. 21 Clarke University Saturday afternoon in Atchison.
The (RV) Ravens trailed for most of Saturday's contest, down by as many as 11 points at one point, but out-scored the Pride 20-7 in the fourth quarter to pick up a 66-55 win.
With 3:35 to play in the fourth quarter, the Ravens grabbed their first lead since the first minute of the game. LaRanda Thomas buried a 3-pointer to give the home squad a 54-52 lead. The Ravens closed out the game with tough defense to ensure the Pride never grabbed the lead back.
Energy on the defensive end played a big part in the Ravens comeback as the Pride committed 20 turnovers in the game. This helped offset Clarke's rebounding advantage as the visitors pulled down 24 more boards than the Ravens. The Pride's domination on the glass mostly happened in the first half, though, as the Ravens had just two fewer boards than Clarke in the second half. The Pride lead all of NAIA Div. 1 by averaging 14 more rebounds than their opponents.
The Ravens were led by Skylar Washington and Ali Brzozowski as both sophomores scored 13 points. Thomas added 11 points.
The Pride were led by Makenna Haase's 11 points and 19 rebounds.
The Ravens trailed by 11 points at one point in the first quarter but were able to close the gap to 18-13. The Pride held a 16-3 advantage on the boards in the opening 10 minutes, picking up 8 offensive rebounds which led to 4 second-chance points in the quarter.
The rebounding prowess of the Pride continued in the second quarter as they limited the Ravens second-chance opportunities. The Pride had a 33-11 rebounding advantage at half, including 13-2 on the offensive glass.
Clarke also kept the Ravens at least a couple baskets behind throughout the second quarter and maintained a 31-23 lead heading into halftime.
The third quarter saw the Ravens pick up the defensive intensity, particularly late in the quarter. The Ravens erased most of the 8-point Pride halftime lead and trailed 48-46 headed into the final frame. After a pair of free throws by Rylee Neill, Skylar Washington stole a Clarke pass and was fouled going to the bucket. Washington knocked down both free throws to make it a 2-point game after 30 minutes of action. The intensity continued in the fourth quarter as the Ravens pulled off the comeback win.
Next up for the Ravens (10-2, 5-2 Heart) is a non-conference road game at College of the Ozarks on Dec. 20.
