Women's basketball team falls to Albion, 75-68

The Olivet College women's basketball team was defeated by Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Albion College, 75-68, tonight at the Upton Center in Olivet.

In the first half, the Comets (8-11, 6-5 MIAA) took a five-point lead, 17-12, when freshman Caitlin Thilo (Onondaga/Eaton Rapids) hit a three-pointer at the 12:53 mark. The Britons (16-4, 9-3 MIAA) answered with a 7-0 run to take a 19-17 lead. Another three from sophomore Nykole Pfaff (Goodrich/Powers Catholic) put Olivet back up by one point, 20-19. Megan Garvey drained a three-pointer to give Albion a 22-20 lead.

The Britons did not relinquish their lead for the rest of the game, including a 38-32 advantage at halftime. Albion opened the second half with a 10-0 scoring spurt to push its lead to double digits where it would stay until the final seconds of the game.

Olivet was led by senior Amy Brackenwagen (Grand Ledge), who posted team-high honors in points (17), assists (seven), steals (three) and minutes (35). Sophomore Gabrielle Federau (Okemos) came one rebound shy of a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Senior Jaime Kowalczyk (Wyandotte/Roosevelt) contributed 10 points and six rebounds.

Garvey led Albion with 21 points on six-of-nine shooting from the floor and a perfect five-of-five from the free throw line.

The Comets will be back in action Saturday when they host Tri-State (Ind.) University at 3 p.m. Following the women's game, the Olivet men will host Albion at 7:30 p.m.