Dec. 29, 2008

Box Score

Despite forcing the University of Dubuque into 27 turnovers for the game, Southwestern lost its' first round match-up in the Southwestern Invitational, 58-52.

Dubuque jumped out to a 10 point lead just 6 minutes into the game and were up by as many as 16 at one point in the first half. Southwestern was able to pull to within 10 by the end of the half due to 4 made free-throws by sophomore forward Katie Kern and solid defense from the Pirates.

The second half began with the Pirates slowly chipping away at the Spartans' lead. SU got it down to 2 points midway through the second half after junior guard Ali Zein-Eldin put back Staley Mullins' missed jumper. Dubuque rallied and went up by 8 on a Krystal Parr layup. SU would retaliate, bringing UD's lead back down to two on a pair of free-throws from sophomore guard Jennifer Tindle with 5:08 left to play. The lead would go back to 5 on a Parr 3-pointer, but SU's Jessica Herbst would respond with a three of her own. Two points would be the closest the Pirates would get with just 1:14 remaining in the half. Southwestern eventually fell down by six after putting UD on the free-throw line down the stretch.

Senior forward Natasha Azizi led the Pirates with 16 points on 5-11 shooting and was nearly perfect from the free-throw line, draining 6 of 7. Azizi also led the team in steals with 4. Junior forward Staley Mullins contributed 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks on the night.

The loss moves the Pirates to 3-6 on the season. They will next take on Pacific Lutheran University in the consolation game of the Southwestern Invitational at 5:00 p.m. on December 30th.