UNION, N.J. (12/31/10) – Illlinois Wesleyan University scored 17 straight points late in the second half to rally past Kean University, 68-57, in a battle of nationally ranked women's basketball teams on Friday afternoon. 

Junior guard Brittany Hasselbring had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds to lift the #15/12 Titans (8-3), while sophomore guard Naimah Clemons had 15 points for #3/4 Kean (9-2).

In a back-and-forth first half, the Titans took an early 7-3 lead, before Kean used a 13-3 run to build a 16-10 advantage with just under nine minutes remaining in the first half, as senior forward Tiffany Patrick (pictured left) capped the run with an offensive rebound and putback.

The Titans battled back to regain a 26-23 lead on a jumper by Hasselbring with 3:06 left in the first half, but the Cougars closed the half on a 9-2 run for the 32-28 lead at the break.

Senior forward Angelica Bermudez led the Cougars with seven points in the first half, while senior forward Stacey Arlis had seven points and three rebounds to lead the Titans.

Kean opened the second-half scoring six of the first eight points of the half, as Clemons gave the Cougars their largest lead of the game at 38-30 with the three-point play just 2:08 into the half.

The Titans pulled with within two points at 46-44 on a three-pointer by senior guard Holly Harvey, however the Cougars stretched the lead back out to seven points at 52-45 following a pair of free throws from Bermudez with exactly eight minutes remaining.

Those would be the Cougars last points until there were 80 seconds remaining, as Illinois Wesleyan scored the game's next 17 points.  Hasselbring netted eight points in the run, including a jumper with 1:41 remaining to extend the Titan lead to 62-52.  Clemons halted the Titan run with a three-pointer, however Illinois Wesleyan added a lay-up by Arlis and the Titans would hit 4-of-6 free throws in the final 45 seconds to seal their second win in as many days on the East Coast.

Hasselbring hit 5-of-7 shots from the floor and 5-of-6 free throws, while all 15 of her rebounds were on the defensive end.  Arlis scored a game-high 17 points and had five rebounds, and junior guard Olivia Lett had 11 points and four rebounds.

For the Cougars, Clemons (pictured right) added two assists and two blocks, while Patrick finished with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Kean loss was the Cougars' first regular season setback since February 11, 2008, when University of Scranton recorded a 61-59 win over the Cougars. 

Kean returns to action on Sunday, January 2, when the Cougars host Regis College in a non-conference game at 1 p.m.