Box Score After the Stars’ Stacy Reynolds (La Grange Park, Ill.) knocked down a pair of free throws to knot the score at 50-50 with 3:26 to play, the Dominican University women’s basketball team saw the host Concordia Chicago Cougars go on a 6-0 run over the next three minutes en route to a 60-55 win.
 
The Stars built up their biggest lead of the night as Allie Tapanes (Winfield, Ill.) capped a 7-0 run for Dominican, dropping in three with 3:54 to play in the first half, putting Dominican ahead 25-17.  However, Dominican went scoreless the remainder of the opening frame while the Cougars closed the half with a 5-0 run sparked by a three-point play by April Broska.
 
Concordia Chicago continued their run to open the second frame as Angelik Young scored four straight to open the half before Kaylee Paciora (Scottsdale, Ariz.) halted the Cougars’ run momentarily with her lone bucket of the night.  However, the Cougars offense picked right up, scoring 12 straight to open their largest lead of the night at 38-27 with 14:51 remaining.
 
Dominican was not done yet, cutting into the Cougar lead as Laura Knieps (Tinley Park, Ill.), Katie Budz (Orland Park, Ill.) and Haley Tyler (Nenana, Alaska) each knocked down a jumper from three-point distance to pull the Stars within four with 12:02 left to play.
 
Dominican stayed hot on the offensive end, eventually tying the score on another Tapanes jumper before Budz and Tyler put the Stars up by four, 46-42, with six still to play.
 
From there the Stars’ offense started to sputter, managing just a pair of Knieps’ free throws over the next 2:30 to allow the Cougars to retake the lead and set up the sprint to the finish.
 
Tapanes paced the Stars in the losing effort, dropping in 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field.  Budz added ten points, going 7-for-8 at the foul line, and six assists but shot just 1-for-11 from the field.
 
Jessica Genke poured in a game-high 21 points, including 17 in the second half as the Cougars shot near 52 percent from the field in the second frame, 15-for-29.  Broska added 15 while Young chipped in 14 and grabbed a game-high ten rebounds.
 
The loss drops the Stars to 0-15 on the season heading into Saturday’s matchup with the Maranatha Baptist Bible College Crusaders.  That contest is slated for a 2:00 p.m. tipoff in the Stars’ Igini Sports Forum.