GETTYSBURG, PA – The Lady Colonels went into the halftime break trailing by just one point; however, they were unable to amount a second half comeback as they dropped their third straight game by a score of 65-58 to the Blazers of Hood College.

Wilkes slips to .500 on the season with a record of 5-5 while Hood improves to 2-10 overall.

The Lady Colonels trailed from the onset falling behind by as much as seven (15-8) just six minutes into the game.  Despite the big hole the Lady Colonels used a 11-0 run to take a 19-15 lead with 9:29 to go in the half.  Haley Mesaros (Royersford, PA/Pope John Paul II) scored five points during the run including a three-pointer and layup that helped spark the big run.  Wilkes built up a five-point lead (23-18) with 7:04 to go in the half before Hood responded with a 9-0 of their own to put them back in the lead at 27-23 with 4:34 remaining on the clock.  The teams exchanged baskets over the final few minutes and Hood led at the break 32-31 thanks to a Alexis Briscoe layup with :09 left in the half.

Wilkes struggled from the floor in the first half shooting just 26.5% from the field.  They made three 3-pointers and were 10-for-15 (66.7%) from the charity stripe.  Mesaros led all Lady Colonels with eight points including two three-pointers.   Elena Stambone (Jessup, PA/Valley View) chipped in with six and Cara Basile (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) scored all five of her points from the foul-line. 

Hood finished the first half shooting 41.9% (13-31) from the field.  They made only one 3-point attempt out of seven tries and were 5-for-7 from the foul-line.  Rachel Wiley led Hood with nine points while Briscoe poured in eight and grabbed seven rebounds.

Early on in the second half Wilkes held a 35-34 advantage before going scoreless for nearly three minutes.  Hood forced three turnovers during that span and knocked off 10 points of their own to give them a 44-35 lead with 15:13 remaining in the contest.  Hood maintained a 10 point advantage throughout the next ten minutes of play as the teams exchanged baskets back-n-forth.

Wilkes made a ferocious comeback attempt in the waning minutes of the game and cut a nine-point Hood lead (61-52) with 1:29 remaining to three (61-58) with :47 seconds remaining.  Down four Stambone missed a three-point jumper that would have trimmed the Blazers lead to one.  Hood sealed the win making 3-out-of-4 foul shots securing their 65-58 victory.

For the game Wilkes shot 32.3 percent (20-62) from the field and made just three 3-pointers on nine attempts.  They shot 65.2 percent (15-23) from the foul line and grabbed 35 rebounds.  Nine different Lady Colonels scored on the day with Stambone's 13 paving the way.  Chelsea Brown (Garnet Valley, PA/Garnet Valley) just missed a double-double as she scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards.

Hood shot a proficient 44.9 percent (22-49) from the field but struggled from distance as they made just two three's on ten attempts.  The Blazers struggled from the line shooting 59.4 percent (19-32) and turned the ball over 26 times.  Rachel Kessler scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half going 10-for-11 from the charity stripe.  Briscoe completed her double-double with 11 points and 11 boards.  Rachel Wiley added 14 points and eight boards for the Blazers who snapped a 10 game losing skid with the win.

Wilkes returns to action on Wednesday January 14, when they travel to Back Mountain rival Misericordia for a Freedom Conference affair.  Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.