GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel College women's basketball team lost a non-conference game to the Hilbert Hawks Tuesday at Beeghly Gymnasium, 78-75.
 
Hilbert held a 27-20 lead after one quarter of play, but the Tomcats finished the second quarter on a 7-0 run to tie up the contest at halftime (39-39).
 
Trailing 39-32 with 2:07 remaining in the first half, freshman guard Rachel Breckenridge (Burton, Ohio/Berkshire) hit a 3-pointer at the 1:50 mark. On Thiel's next possession, Jess Vormelker (Orwell, Ohio/Grand Valley) made a layup and completed the 3-point play with a free throw. Emily Harriman (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) accounted for the seventh point in the 7-0 run on a free throw with 20 seconds left in the first half.
 
Both teams scored 14 points in the third quarter, but the Hawks went on to hold a 7-point lead (65-58) with 6:35 remaining in the fourth quarter. Thiel cut the lead down to a single point twice down the stretch, including with 48 seconds remaining after Vormelker connected on a jumper. The Hawks secured the win by making 5-of-6 shots from the charity stripe with less than 20 seconds remaining,
 
Vormelker scored a game-best 24 points for the Tomcats. Freshman forward Destiny Johnson (Baltimore, M.D./Western) tallied her first collegiate double-double with 15 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. Alivia Sidley (Thompson, Ohio/Ledgemont) scored 13 points while Breckenridge made 4-of-8 shots from 3-point range to finish with 12 points.
 
Ashley Repine led the Hawks with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Taylor Corts scored 20 points while Emily Gawlak and Katelyn Proy tallied 11 points apiece.
 
The Tomcats will return to action Friday when they open play in the Betty Abgott Invitational, hosted by Buffalo State, against the Cazenovia Wildcats. The game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.