RIVER FOREST, Ill. – The Edgewood College women's basketball team played another back and forth affair on Saturday on the road against Dominican University. The Eagles hung with the South Division leaders in the first half and had the score tied at halftime. However, the tides turned in the second half as the Stars quickly grabbed the lead and extended it before holding off a late Eagle spurt to take the 72-60 victory.

Over the first seven minutes of the game, there were five ties and seven lead changes, and neither team led by more than three points. At that point, the Stars (15-4, 10-2 NAC) began to pull away, scoring six straight points to take and extend the lead to 17-12 with just under 12 minutes to play in the first half.

Trailing 21-16, Alison Tobin made a layup and Melanie Walker connected on a three-point attempt to tie the game at 21 with just under nine minutes left in the first stanza. The Stars extended the lead to six points, their largest lead of the half, before the Eagles (11-8, 9-4 NAC) went on another run.

Shae Beckwith started the 10-1 run with a free throw before Brittany Bylsma made a layup. Walker and Brianna Reising made consecutive jump shots, and then after a Star free throw, Beckwith drained a three-point shot to put the Eagles up 31-28. The senior guard then sunk another three-point shot with 26 seconds left in the half to put the Eagles up two. However, the Stars' Kayla Blom made a layup with seven seconds left to make the halftime score 34-34.

In a half that included seven ties and 10 lead changes, the Eagles shot 41.2 percent, while holding Dominican to 34.4 percent shooting from the floor. Edgewood College also shot 60.0 percent (3-for-5) from three point range, with the Stars going 1-for-8 for 12.5 percent in the first half.

The Eagles looked to grab some momentum coming out in the second half as Danielle Dixon put Edgewood College ahead with a layup just 24 seconds into the half. However, the Stars had other ideas as Beck Christofferson and Sarah Budz started an 8-0 run with back-to-back three point baskets. Katie Budz made a layup before Beckwith ended the run with a bucket to make the score 42-38 just three minutes into the second frame.

Both teams then exchanged baskets until Sarah Budz started another Star run with an old fashioned three-point play. Ashley Oliver capped the 10-0 run with a layup as the Stars extended the lead to 61-46 with 10:39 left.

The lead swelled to as many as 17 points before the Eagles started to chip away. Bylsma started an 11-0 run with a layup with just more than five minutes to play. Walker made a layup before Tobin converted consecutive baskets and Beckwith capped the run with her third triple of the game, cutting the Star lead to 65-59 with 1:10 left.

However, the Eagles could not get any closer as the Stars went 7-for-7 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal the 72-60 win. Dominican shot better in the second half, 42.3 percent, while the Eagles cooled off at 28.2 percent. In total, the Eagles shot 34.2 percent in the game and the Stars shot 37.9 percent. Dominican held the edge on the glass too, outrebounding the Eagles 52-37. Edgewood College only committed 11 turnovers while forcing the Stars into 19 miscues.

Walker led the Eagles with a career-high 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field while Beckwith scored 14 points and tied a career-high with seven assists. Bylsma almost recorded her second consecutive double-double, accounting for 12 points and nine rebounds. Christofferson led the Stars with 18 points while Blom scored 12 and Magealena Kaminska recorded a double-double  with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Eagles will have a week off before hosting Aurora University next Saturday at Edgewood College's annual Jam the Gym event. Edgewood College will provide live video and live stats for the 2:00 p.m. tipoff. Bot h links can be found on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.