Hardin Has Career Night as Crusaders are Defeated at the Buzzer
IRVING, Texas - The Univeresity of Dallas women's basketball team lost their conference match with Southwestern University 52-50 on Saturday. They fall to 3-4 on the year and are 1-1 after the first conference weekend.
The Crusaders matchup with the Pirates was truly a Dickensian affair. The best of times came in the first half, and especially the first quarter that saw Dallas simply dominate the Pirates. The Crusaders jumped out to an 11-0 lead after just four and a half minutes thanks in no small part to a stellar performance by Imani Hardin. By the end of the first quarter, she was a perfect 3-3 from the line, a perfect 2-2 from the free throw line, grabbed two rebounds and recorded three blocks.
Dallas was sitting pretty with a nine point lead shooting 50% from the field. By the end of the second quarter, Hardin was well on her way to a double-double with 16 points and six rebounds and the Crusaders were leading 31-24.
Then came the third quarter. In what was the worst of times for Dallas, The Crusaders failed to score a field goal for the first seven minutes of the period. Luckily for them, the Pirates struggled just as much, only scoring nine points themselves the entire quarter.
Southwestern saved their best basketball of the night for the fourth quarter, and the Crusaders never came close to the same heights they reached in the first half as the Pirates chipped away at the lead. All the same, it seemed like Dallas could hold on for the win, clinging to a four-point advantage with a minute remaining.
But turnovers and an untimely cold streak gave way for the Pirates to tie the game with 30 seconds remaining, and culminated with them scoring the go-ahead basket to take their first and only lead of the night with 0.6 seconds left on the clock. The Crusaders managed to pull off their last second play and get the ball in Jordan Gillespie's hands, but her would-be game winner rattled off the back of the rim and out, giving Southwestern the win.
Though she was quiet the remainder of the night, Imani Hardin manged to post a career-high 17 points and tied her career-high of five blocks, while also recording a season-high 15 rebounds. It was her first double-double of the season, and her first since Feb. 18 vs Schreiner last season.
Up Next
The Crusaders are back in action in nearly two weeks time against Colorado College. They will face the Tigers on the road on Friday, Dec. 16 at 5:30 p.m. CST.