DEERFIELD, Ill. - Shooting woes in the second half for Judson University (8-12/2-3) let Trinity International (4-16/1-4) back in the game and to the win, 75-73. With 16:44 left in the game, Judson had a 10-point lead before Trinity International outscored the Eagles, 23-8, over the next 13 minutes for a five-point lead.
Aubrey Parsons netted 24 points for Judson by hitting three three-pointers and making seven free throws. Alicia Rovertoni had her 29th double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds and Kirstin Johns added 11 points.
Trinity International started off on fire in the first half jumping out to an 8-0 lead. Just over five minutes into the game they extended their lead to 11 and with 12:18 left they were up 23-11. Judson's offense kicked into gear at this point as they outscored Trinity International, 22-9, over the next seven minutes to take a one-point lead, 33-32. In that run, Parsons had nine of the 22 points and converted a three-point play to put Judson in front. There were two more ties in that final five minutes before Judson finished the half on an 8-4 run to take a 46-42 lead. In that run, Rovertoni scored five of the eight points.
Judson continued their run opening up the second half on a 10-4 run to make it 54-46 with 16:44 left in the games. At this point, Trinity International slowly made their move over the next 13 minutes to retake the lead, 69-64, with 3:32 left to play. Judson was within three, 72-69, with 2:13 left but missed a free throw to come within two. Trinity International took the rebound and scored to put their lead back at five. Johns hit a three-pointer with two seconds left to play to come within two and that is as close as they would come.
Adding to the shooting woes of the second half, Judson shot only 65% from the line missing 10 free throws (19-of-29). They finished shooting 33% from the floor and 30% from beyond the arc. Trinity International made 46% of their shots, 33% from three-point range, but only 42% from the stripe. Judson forced 25 turnovers but turned the ball over themselves 23 times.
Judson will next play on Wednesday, February 3rd, when they travel to Wisconsin to face nationally ranked Cardinal Stritch at 5:30 p.m.
