TIFFIN – The Heidelberg University women's basketball team was outdone by Mount Union on Saturday afternoon. Unable to keep up in the second and third quarters, the Student Princes fell to the Purple Raiders, 64-48 in an OAC tussle. 

Hallie Rogers and Bailey Walter led with eight points each, and Taylor Ratliff followed with seven. 

On the boards, Alyssa Martin tallied five, while Lily Sweeney, Walter, and Morgan Altenburger each added four of their own. 

Both teams worked to find a rhythm throughout the first, keeping things neck and neck. Ashley Ballard opened with a floater in the paint to put HU on the board. Ratliff facilitated a morale-boosting deep three, tying the game at 5. Walter and Rogers each added four of their own. The Berg (3-13, 2-7 OAC) out-rebounded Mount Union (6-8, 3-5 OAC) 12-9, but led in turnovers 8-4. The teams regrouped before the second, knotted at 15-15 a piece. 

A high-pressure, full-court defense rattled Heidelberg as they struggled to score in the second. Nevertheless, Walter added her sixth point off a feed from Marissa Thomas. Midway through, Anika Sweeney knocked down a 3-pointer, her eighth of the season. The Purple Raiders, however, managed a 6-0 run and went into intermission with a 29-22 lead.

Neither team shot well from beyond the arc in the third, as they combined for 1-10. A minute out of the gates, Lily Sweeney sank a jumper in the face of the foe. Ratliff also added an unselfish pair of layups to the book. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to fight off the 10-0 run that Mount embarked on for a painful three minutes. 

Riddled with foul trouble, Walter played a mere eight minutes in the second half. Relying heavily on Sarah Shoots and Alyssa Martin underneath, they combined for seven rebounds. Heidelberg emerged from the Purple Raiders' full-court press to match their 16 points of the fourth. They also controlled the ball for no turnovers, totaling 17 on the game compared to Mount's ten. 

For the game, Heidelberg shot 30.6% with a slim 2-13 from beyond the arc. Mount Union wasn't far off themselves – finding 32.8% and 4-24 from three. Twenty of HU's points came from the paint compared to Mount Union's 30. 

The Heidelberg women's team plays again on Wednesday in Berea, where they face No. 11 Baldwin Wallace for the second time. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.