WESTERVILLE -- A frantic fourth-quarter rally came up tantalizingly short as the Heidelberg University women's basketball team fell on the road, 77-74, at Otterbein University.  With a chance to tie the game with a late 3-pointer, Brooke Beamer drew front iron as the Student Princes dropped their second straight.  

Beamer dropped 24 points and all five starters finished in double figures.  Maddy Crawford added 16 points and seven boards, Brittanie Ulmer added 12 points while Leah Bouillon and Alli Adelsperger contributed 10.  

Bouillon and Beamer each added four assists.  

Heidelberg (6-11, 2-8 OAC), led by as many as nine in the first quarter before Otterbein (10-6, 6-4) charged back.  HU was up 20-18 after one.  

In the second quarter, a basket by Ulmer midway through gave The Berg a 26-20 lead.  The hosts, though, would head into halftime on a 20-8 run and led 40-34.  

After treading water in the third, HU watched as Otterbein built up their lead in the fourth.  An Abby Zerkle free throw with 5:45 to play put the Cardinals ahead 68-56.  

Then the comeback began.   

Beamer ignited the run with back-to-back 3-pointers -- cleaving the deficit in half in 64 seconds. After some back-and-forth, Ulmer hit from long range and Adelsperger connected on two from the line.  After Abbie Scholz split a pair at the line, Beamer hit on two from the line, cutting the Otterbein down to 72-70 with 1:25 left.  

A Cardinal miss gave HU a chance at the lead, but a 3-point attempt was off the mark.  On the other end, Jenna Hoschouer missed a jumper but her teammate Angelia Johnson grabbed the board.  Rather than kicking the ball back our to chew up clock, Johnson went back toward the hoop and missed a lay up.  This time, Bouillon corralled the carom.

Still down two, Heidelberg missed out on another chance to tie or take the lead, turning the ball over with 12 seconds left.  Fouled on the ensuing inbound, Hoschouer split the pair at the line.  Needing three to tie, Beamer brought the ball ahead but missed on her jumper.  Adelsperger put back the miss, but only .2 seconds remained when HU fouled on the next inbound.      

Otterbein -- which honored its long-time head coach and 'Berg grad Connie (Sanford) Richardson at halftime -- was led by a 20-point / 13-board double-double by Scholz. 

The Student Princes return home on Wednesday for a matchup with /No. 11 Baldwin Wallace.  Tipoff in Seiberling is scheduled for 7 p.m.