RICHMOND, Indiana – Three Quakers finished in double figures to lead Earlham College women's basketball to a 55-45 win over visiting Mount St. Joseph University, in Saturday afternoon's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup at the Druley Performance Gym.

Senior Amy Weisner led the trio with 18 points. First-year Trinity McClendon tallied 12 points and junior Kayla Bowling added 10 points, with both players doing most of their scoring during Earlham's fourth-quarter surge for the win. Senior Zoe Curtis also scored the bulk of her nine points during the Quakers' fourth-quarter rally.

THE BASICS

Final Score: Earlham 55, Mount St. Joseph 45
Location: Richmond, Indiana – Druley Performance Gym
Records: Earlham 7-16, 6-10 HCAC / Mount St. Joseph 7-16, 6-10 HCAC

HOW IT HAPPENED

Trailing by one, 37-36, at the end of the third quarter, junior Kayla Bowling knotted the game at 41-41 on a 3-pointer from the near side. A 3-pointer from first-year Trinity McClendon and buckets from McClendon and senior Zoe Curtis completed a 10-point swing for the Quakers, leaving Earlham with a 48-41 lead with 3:50 remaining.

Layups from Curtis and Bowling helped extend Earlham's advantage to nine points, 52-43, with under a minute remaining. A single foul shot from Curtis and a pair of free throws from senior Kyra Joseph helped seal the Quaker win.

Curtis netted seven of her nine points in the fourth quarter to lead the Earlham rally.

Earlham had to survive a see-saw opening two-quarters of play with three lead changes and four ties on its way to the decisive second half.

The Quakers held a 24-22 lead at the intermission and extended the advantage to 36-26 by the 3:57 mark of the third quarter on a 10-0 Earlham run. However Mount St. Joseph's end the frame with an 11-0 run of its own, with eight points coming from the Lions' Maddie Haberthy including a banked 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving MSJ the one-point lead heading into the final quarter.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Earlham shot 20-of-51 (.392) from the field with five 3-pointers, while holding Mount St. Joseph to a 31.9 percent (15-of-47) clip from the floor. The Quakers also controlled the boards, 40-28, with a 13-6 advantage on the offensive glass.

Acacia Tenette led Earlham on the boards with 10 rebounds, with McClendon hauling down seven rebounds. Curtis also dished out a game-high five assists.

Haberthy paced Mount St. Joseph with 27 points, with Chloe Jansen recording nine points and 13 rebounds.

The Earlham victory keeps the Quakers in the hunt for an HCAC Tournament berth with a 6-10 conference record, tied with Bluffton, Defiance, and Mount St. Joseph for fourth place in the standings.

WHAT'S NEXT

Earlham women's basketball is on the road on Wednesday, Feb. 19, when it heads to Terre Haute, Indiana, to face Rose-Hulman. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.