ALLIANCE, Ohio -- The No. 7 seed Heidelberg University women's basketball team lost in the opening round of the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament, 65-60, at No. 6 seed Mount Union. The Student Princes finish the season 9-17 overall.

Theresa Jackson finished with a game-high 24 points and had six rebounds. Brittanie Ulmer chipped in nine points

Heidelberg opened up to a 7-2 lead on a pair of buckets by Maggie Davault and one by Jackson. From there, the Purple Raiders closed the quarter on an 11-3 run and led 13-10 after one.

With Mount Union controlling the paint, perimeter shooting was critical for the Student Princes in the second period. Ulmer and Davault buried 3-pointers as part of an early second-quarter run which allowed the Tricolor to turn the deficit into a five-point lead at 20-15.

Following a timeout, the Purple Raiders responded with a 17-5 run and went into halftime with a 32-27 advantage. MTU held an 18-2 scoring edge in the paint at the break.

After halftime, the hosts got hot from the outside. Four 3-pointers, including back-to-back triples by Kelsey Scott helped the Purple Raiders amass a 15-point cushion.

Undeterred, the Tricolor began to gather momentum in the paint. A three-point play by Madelyn Crawford brought the deficit back to 10 with 43 seconds left in the third.

Down 52-43 after three, Heidelberg opened the fourth on a 5-0 run -- keyed by Ulmer's third 3-pointer of the game. The Purple Raiders were scoreless for the first 4:42 of the period.

At the final media timeout, the Student Princes trailed 56-52. Following the respite, HU got a stop and a 3-pointer from Mariah Pearson to crawl within one.

MTU's Anna Alkire split a pair from the line before Jackson was fouled driving to the basket. The senior hit the pair to tie the game at 57 with 1:20 left.

After Jamie Sanborn hit a jumper to put Mount up two, Heidelberg turned the ball over. With 28.9 seconds left, Rachel Tinkey banked in a jumper to put the hosts up four.

On the other end, Jackson stepped into a 3-pointer and drained it. HU fouled Anna Alkire, who hit both free throws with 14.1 seconds left.

Out of a timeout, Davault rimmed out a contested 3-pointer from the wing. Again at the line, Alkire hit both, giving her team a 65-60 lead. The Student Princes were unable to get a desperation basket to fall.

NOTES & QUOTES:

The loss brings an end to the careers of eight HU players -- Jackson, Davault, Pearson, Carli Patrick, Marisa Liburdi, Cassidy Frank, Sam Reed and Shelly Barrow.  

Patrick finished her illustrious career with 985 points -- 15th all-time. Jackson tallied 865 in her three seasons for Heidelberg, 17th all-time. Patrick tallied 866 rebounds.

Head coach Morgan Harrigan on the loss: "We fought to the finish ... It would've been easy to pack it in, but we had people come in and knock down shots ... Our run came just a little too late.  I appreciate our seniors and the contributions they have made in games, in practice and on campus.  It really hasn't sunk in that we won't have them anymore."