Box Score For 40 minutes, the eighth-ranked Madison College women's basketball team gave #1 Rock Valley College all they could handle. However, despite leading 33-31 at the half, the WolfPack couldn't polish off the Golden Eagles, falling 62-54 Wednesday night.

"We were right there," said Madison College head coach Jessica Pelzel. "It came down to not making shots, and not making free throws, and a couple of defensive lapses for maybe two minutes in the whole game, and that killed us. We can live with that, because that's something we can change."

The majority of the WolfPack's struggles came in the second half. After knocking down 37 percent of their shots from the field in the game's first 20 minutes, Madison College made just 17 percent down the back stretch. Furthermore, they shot just 50 percent from the free throw line in the second stanza.

According to freshman post player Lizzy Britt, the tide turned due to the tempo of the game slowing down. "The first half we had a lot of dishes up the floor for layups," said Britt, who finished with four points, six rebounds and four blocks. "The second half, we slowed down, we didn't make our layups, and that's kind of what killed it for us in the second half."

Kelly Calhoun led Madison College offensively, finishing with 16 points on the night. Sophomore Chelsey Schulenburg also finished with double figures in scoring, adding 15 points.

The Golden Eagles were able to take control late due to the play of Marquiesha Grant. Grant scored a game-high 25 points, sometimes getting to the basket a little too easily.

"We had a couple defensive lapses against her," said Britt. "We just needed to step up and take charges."

Madison College (12-6, 4-1) will look to rebound from the loss when they start a five-game road trip, beginning against College of DuPage Saturday, Jan. 25.