LAS VEGAS – The 10th-ranked Trinity women's basketball team opened up its part in the D3hoops.com Classic with a 72-65 loss to Ohio Northern University on Thursday afternoon at the South Point Arena.

The Tigers (8-3) dropped their third straight game after winning eight of their first nine to start the season, while Ohio Northern improved to 6-3 this season with the win. This was the first time the two teams met on the basketball court. Trinity forced 27 turnovers but the Polar Bears shot 51% from the field in the game, and held the Tigers to just 36.8% shooting overall to overcome the miscues.

Jamie Ruede (Pipe Creek, Texas / Boerne) and Josie Napoli (Beaverton, Ore. / Valley Catholic) accounted for nearly half of Trinity's scoring in the game, tallying 31 total points. Ruede led the way with 16 points and also grabbed a team-leading six rebounds. Napoli went 5-for-9 from the field on her way to 15 points, while also swiping a Tiger-best four steals. The duo also combined to hit 9-of-10 free throws in the game.

A'nnika Saenz (Edinburg, Texas / Edinburg) came off the bench with seven points, while Natalie Greenwood (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) scored six points in her Trinity debut. Kylie Minter (League City, Texas / Clear Springs) chipped in with four points and recorded three steals.

The Rundown
Trinity took a 5-2 lead early in the first quarter, but Ohio Northern scored 10 unanswered points to take a seven-point lead with under four to go. Napoli broke up the streak with her first basket of the game, then Saenz scored her first points as the clock approached two minutes to pull the Tigers within four at 15-11. The Polar Bears scored the last four points of the period, though, and took a 19-11 lead after the opening period.

Ohio Northern scored the first points of the second quarter to push the lead to double figures, but Napoli nailed a pair of three-pointers to fuel a 9-0 Trinity run that made it a 21-20 game with just over six minutes left before halftime. The teams went back and forth for the next four minutes and the Tigers were still within two points with less than two minutes left. The Polar Bears strung together a 7-0 run from there, though a three-pointer by Ruede in the waning seconds made it a 34-28 game at the break.

With consecutive buckets from Ruede and Napoli early in the third quarter, the lead was down to just 36-32 with 7:52 left. Ohio Northern snagged six of the next seven points, though, keeping Trinity from getting back in the lead or even leveling the score. Ruede scored six straight points for the Tigers in less than a minute to keep pace with the Polar Bears offense, and the lead was still just five points as the teams approached the two-minute mark of the quarter. Trinity was held scoreless over the final 3:12 of the third and ONU scored seven unanswered to close the quarter and take command with a 54-42 lead.

Minter started off the scoring in the fourth quarter, then Ruede knocked down a pair of free throws to bring the lead back to single digits at 54-46. Minter hit again with just over eight minutes left in the game to keep the lead at eight, but the Polar Bears pulled away once again by scoring seven of the next eight to make it a 63-49 lead with 5:40 to go. Trinity's defense held Ohio Northern without a field goal over the final 4:20 of the game, but the Polar Bears did hit 7-of-8 from the foul line to hold off the Tigers. Trinity did manage a pair of late three-pointers to bring it back to a seven-point game, but that was as close as it got for the Tigers.

Coach Speak
"Good Will Hunting was great for a lot of real-life reasons," began Head Coach Cameron Hill. "It dealt with trust, loyalty, friendship, pain, healing, and mathematical proofs that only a small percentage of people can solve. But the best message in the film is, where you've been doesn't determine where you can go. I may need a calculator, but we will solve this proof right after we clean up our mess in the hallway! ONWARD!"

Up Next
Trinity will be back for more tournament action with a quick turnaround tomorrow, facing off against Framingham State University at 10:00 a.m. (PT).