Daily Herald Article

PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College women's basketball team led 56-55 with 2:34 remaining in the game against Illinois Valley Community College on Tuesday night when Hawks leading scorer Joslyn Nicholson (/Cary-Grove) fouled out. Forced to play 4-on-5, the Hawks, led by point guard Kim Herzog (/Buffalo Grove), held on for a dramatic 65-63 win.

Herzog scored nine of her 16 points down the stretch, including several key buckets. She split a pair of free throws to make it 57-55 with 2:10 remaining. After a stop on the defensive end, Herzog calmly knocked down two more free throws to give the Hawks (6-7) a 59-55 advantage with 1:34 left. Following an Illinois Valley (2-7) turnover, Herzog made a driving layup with under a minute remaining to stretch the lead to 61-55. A free throw from Ashonte Sims (/Normal Community West) gave Harper a 62-55 edge with 44 seconds left.

The Eagles made things very interesting in the closing seconds. Kaylee Kingen knocked down a 3-pointer, and Mia Porter scored off a Harper turnover to cut the lead to 62-60. After another Hawks blunder, Kingen went to the line and split a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game.

The Hawks turned it over again, but Lane Winkler (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) stole a Raley Mauck (team-high 17 points) pass and was fouled. She sank both free throws to give Harper a 64-61 lead. Illinois Valley's Becca Herrman (14 points) knocked down a pair of free throws with four seconds left to trim the lead to 64-63.

The Eagles fouled Herzog on the ensuing inbound pass. She hit one of two from the line, and Kingen's three-quarter-court shot came up short, giving Harper the victory.

"With only four players, I knew that we had to step up. I just took charge," Herzog said. "It makes me feel really good because I love to score, and I haven't really been doing it that much."

Nicholson, the reigning NJCAA Region IV Div. III Player of the Week, led the Hawks with a game-high 29 points (11-of-22 shooting) and 15 rebounds. Harper also got 10 points each from Winkler and Ashonte Sims (/Normal Community West) and a stout effort defensively from Shannon Koch (/Prospect).

Harper plays its next game on Thursday evening against Ancilla College (7-5) inside the Wellness & Sports Center. Tipoff is set for 5 PM, and you can follow the Hawks' Twitter, @HarperHawks , for live in-game updates.