RICHMOND, Ind. — The Earlham College women's basketball team gave its fans plenty to cheer about on Tuesday with a late-game comeback, but in a contest where free throws were a factor the Quakers came up one point shy of a victory.

A pair of free throws by Heidelberg University's Emily Giel with four seconds remaining was the difference as the Quakers fell 82-81 in their home opener on Schuckman Court in the Athletics and Wellness Center.

"It was a great atmosphere and our team was thrilled to see the number of supporters on our side," Earlham Head Coach Melissa Johnson said. "We could feel the energy and that helped our comeback."

Down 78-68 with 1:53 left in the non-conference affair, the Quakers were poised for a victory.

"I am extremely proud of the effort our team made as we continue to get more experience in close games," Johnson said. "This will help us as we continue to improve. If the players continue to believe in themselves and put in the effort that was shown tonight good things will come."

Bria Sneed (Indianapolis, IN, University) scored and Danielle Altman (Carthage, IN, Knightstown) followed with two free throws to make it 78-72 with 1:27 left. Sneed hit a pair of charity tosses to cut the deficit to 78-74 at the 1:14 mark.

After Heidelberg scored, Altman closed the gap to 80-77 with a 3-pointer with 41 seconds on the clock.

On Heidelberg's next possession, Charvonne Long (Edwardsville, IL, Edwardsville) picked up a steal and then Sneed was fouled shortly after the turnover.

Sneed hit both free throws to cut the Heidelberg advantage to 80-79 with 15 seconds left.

With the Quakers applying pressure under their own basket, Nikki Darrett (Evansville, IN, Bosse) forced another turnover. Earlham had the ball underneath its basket when Sneed found Darrett cutting to the hoop to give the Quakers an 81-80 lead with five seconds to go.

Unfortunately for the Quakers, Darrett was charged with a foul as Heidelberg worked the ball up court, which set the stage for the game-winning free throws by Giel.

Sneed finished with a team-high 20 points for the Quakers, while Darrett ended with 19 points and five steals. Altman tossed in 14 points. Long added eight points.

Darrett and Altman led the Quakers with seven rebounds each. Emily Sells (Winchester, IN, Winchester) topped the squad with six assists.

For the game, Earlham was 28-of-63 from the floor (44.4 percent) and 20-22 (90.9 percent) from the free-throw line.

Heidelberg (2-2) made 22-of-53 shots (41.5 percent) and 35-of-41 (85.4 percent) free throws.

Quick Start

The Quakers led early in the contest with a 10-4 advantage after Long scored at 16:13 of the first half.

Heidelberg eventually tied the game at 10-10 and had a 16-14 lead with 11:29 remaining in the opening period.

The game was tied for the sixth time at 18-18 before Kate Franks (Hopewell, OH, West Muskingum ) drilled a 3-pointer to put Earlham ahead for good in the half.

Earlham had its largest lead at 34-22 after Sneed scored with 3:22 left. The Quakers were able to hold on the rest of the frame to lead 42-38 at intermission.

The Quakers struggled in the second half going for over nine minutes without a basket as Heidelberg built a 56-46 lead.

Karmell Brown (Columbus, OH, Columbus School for Girls) scored to end the dry spell at 11:17 as the Quakers trailed 56-48.

Heidelberg eventually had a 71-60 lead with 5:35 left before the Quakers were able to begin their rally

Earlham (0-3) returns to action on Sunday at Oberlin College. The non-conference game gets underway at 2 p.m.     

Box Score