QUINCY, Ill. – Rogers State women's basketball (0-3) fell in a heartbreaking 58-56 game to Qunicy (1-2) in the first game of the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic on Saturday.
Two Hillcats finished in double figures in the game. Jordan Lewis led the Hillcats with 13 points to go with four rebounds, two steals and an assist. Bailey Kliewer finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds with two steals and an assist. Kamryn Estell contributed eight points, a rebound, an assist and a block.
The first quarter set the tone for the game with five ties and two lead changes. RSU got things started as Estell laid up a ball for the game's first points. The Hawks responded with a 5-0 run to take an early 5-2 lead. The Hillcats proceed to tie things at 5-5. They eventually took the lead back 12-10 to carry the advantage into the second quarter.
RSU kept the momentum rolling and managed to push the lead out to 16-12 at the start of the final 10 minutes of the half. QU answered with a 7-0 run to go back up 19-16 and held the lead for the remainder of the period, holding on to a 26-21 lead going into the break.
The Hillcats came out of the locker room swinging as they opened the second half on a 7-0 run of their own to retake the lead 28-26. Things stayed tight with both teams trading blows for much of the period with two leads changes and a tie. However, the Hawks closed out the third quarter on a 10-2 run to carry a 42-37 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Early in the final 10 minutes, every time the Hillcats would attempt a comeback Qunicy had an answer and pushed their lead out to its largest at 53-46 with 3:25 left. From there, RSU managed to pull off a 10-3 run to knot things at 56-56 with 10 seconds left. Unfortunately, with three seconds left on the clock the Hawk's Beth Matas Martin pulled up for a jumper and sealed the 58-56 win at the buzzer.
The Hillcats will wrap up the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic on Sunday with a match up against McKendree. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
