PAINESVILLE, Ohio – The Lake Erie College Storm women's basketball team fell to the Ohio Dominican University Panthers 81-76 on Saturday (Jan. 20) afternoon at the Osborne Center.

Ohio Dominican opened the contest with a 5-2 run over the first two minutes. Farrah Benner (Brunswick, Ohio / Brunswick) drilled a three pointer that tied the game at five. The teams exchanged baskets before Josie Chaddock (Minerva, Ohio / Minerva) tied the game with a jumper. The Panthers scored five straight points, taking a 14-9 lead with 4:05 remaining in the first quarter. After two quick baskets by both teams, Sophie Sonneman (Jamestown, Ohio / Greenview) and Megyn Christensen (Swanton, Ohio / Swanton) scored five consecutive points for the Storm. The game was tie at 16 with 2:49 remaining in the first quarter. The Panthers ended the quarter with a 7-3 run as they led 23-19.

Christensen began the second quarter with a three pointer that trimmed the Panthers lead to 23-22. Ohio Dominican pushed the advantage to 27-24 before Chaddock scored four straight points as Lake Erie regained the 28-27 lead. The Panthers answered with two straight layups for a 31-28 lead. The Storm trimmed the deficit to one three times before Ohio Dominican ended the half with an 8-2 run. The Panthers led 43-36 at the break.

The Panthers opened the third quarter with a small run that pushed the lead to 11 in the opening two minutes. Over the next two minutes, Kayla Gabor (Mentor, Ohio / Mentor) and Christensen each hit a three pointer during a Lake Erie 9-2 run. The Storm pulled within four at 53-49 with 6:10 left in the third quarter. The Panthers pulled away with a 7-1 run for a ten point lead. Four different players combined to score the final nine points of the quarter as the Storm cut the lead in half. Breanna Bauer (Port Huron, Mich. / Northern) made a driving layup in the final seconds, as Lake Erie trailed 64-59 going to the fourth.

The Storm used layups from Chaddock and Christine Dawson (Mentor, Ohio / Mentor) to chip away at the Panthers lead. The Storm cut the lead to three twice over the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. Ohio Dominican had a 70-63 lead with 4:57 left after a Panthers layup. Kayla Gabor scored four points on a Lake Erie 8-0 run, including a layup that gave the Storm a 71-70 advantage with 2:55 left. The teams exchanged three pointers as Gabor regained the Storm lead with 1:47 left. Ashley West (Willoughby Hills, Ohio / Cornerstone Christian) put the Storm up 76-75 with 48 ticks left. The Panthers added some free throws for an 81-76 victory.  

Gabor led the Storm with 21 points on the day, including nine from beyond the arc. Dawson finished one rebounds shy of a double-double as she had 16 points and nine rebounds (six on the offensive glass) with six assists. Chaddock converted six free throws for a total of 12 points. Christensen tied a career-high with nine points.

The Storm will host Cedarville on Thursday (Jan. 25) at 7:30 PM.  

-LEC-