Early deficit too much to overcome in Pride home loss to Benedictine

DUBUQUE, Iowa - In their second matchup of the 2024-25 season, the Clarke University women's basketball team fell at home 82-56 to Benedictine College on Saturday afternoon.

The Ravens used a dominant second quarter to essentially carry the way to their win as the Pride hit the first shot of the quarter by way of a Zoe Kennedy three pointer to make it a one-possession game at 18-15 but then were outscored by BC 26-3 over the remainder of the period with a Kennedy layup and free throw serving as the only other points for CU in the second.

In those 10 minutes, Benedictine went 10-for-18 (55.6%) from the field and 3-for-7 (42.9%) from deep with all three of those triples coming off the hand of Kennedy Nicholson as she scored nine of the team's 26 second quarter points and nine of her game-high tying 22 points in the period.

Clarke's only player in double figures was Kennedy, who also matched Nicholson's 22 with 22 of her own on 8-of-14 (57.1%) shooting from the field while adding three assists, three steals, and four blocked shots as the Ravens had four other players in double figures behind Nicholson as Lauryn Dubbert had 11 with Jennifer Jacobs, Riley Rottinghaus, and Nicole Storck all adding 10.

Along with a significant advantage on the offensive efficiency side thanks to that dominant second quarter, BC was also able to outrebound Clarke 52-24 and outscore CU in the paint 38-14 despite turning the ball over 16 times to just nine turnovers from the Pride.

Clarke women's basketball will be back on their home floor of the Kehl Center next Wednesday, Jan. 22 when they host Grand View University for the second matchup between the Pride and Vikings in just over a two week span with a 5:30 p.m. CT scheduled tip.