After three weeks with no competition, the Ursuline College basketball team had a strong showing in their return to play. Unfortunately, their competitive play in the first and fourth quarters could not lead the Arrows to victory in their conference opener versus Tiffin on Tuesday evening.

The Dragons jumped out to an early 4-10 lead in the opening five minutes of the contest before freshman Michaela Cloonan knocked down a three-pointer on a pass from senior Bekah Green to make it 10-7. The Arrows tied the game at minute 2:44 and pulled ahead with a set up layups from Michaela and an additional layup from Madison Cloonan to finish the first quarter leading 15-13.

Both teams traded leads for the first six minutes of the second quarter until Ursuline reached a stand still at the 4 minute mark, the score at 30-29. The Arrows were unable to find the net in the final four minutes of the quarter, allowing the Dragons to rattle off 11 unanswered points. Tiffin picked up their game this quarter, shooting 59 percent (10-for-17) from the field compared to Ursuline's 29 percent (5-for-17). 

The Dragons held a 40-30 lead at the break.

The Arrows struggled to bounce back in the third quarter as Tiffin reached their largest lead of the game at minute 6:32 with a 17 point lead. Ursuline continued to fight and held Tiffin to outshoot them by just four points (23-19) in the third quarter. 

UC battled in the fourth quarter and brought the score to a close four point game just under the two minute mark. After three fouls, Tiffin pulled ahead to end the game 77-67.

The Arrows shot 43 percent (26-of-60) from the field in the game and were 7-for-19 from behind the three-point line while Tiffin shot 50 percent (27-for-54) from the floor and were 8-for-17 from deep. The Dragons were 15-for-20 from the free throw line while the Arrows finished the game 8-for-10. Tiffin out rebounded Ursuline 38-21.

Michaela Cloonan paced the Arrows offense with 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting while grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing out two assists. Green finished with 20 points while Alyssa Evans added 5 points and 7 assists. 

Ursuline remains at home for their next match up versus Lake Erie on Saturday, December 18th at 1:00 pm.