Green Mountain (0-1) had an opportunity to pull out the win at various junctures, but could just not get shots to fall especially in the first half as the team shot just 15.8 percent from the field, yet the Eagles only found themselves down by 10 at the break 26-16.
The Eagles began their comeback attempt in the fourth quarter as the offense finally started to gel hitting on 43 percent of its shots. With the team trailing 39-26 entering the final period, GMC scored the quarter's first 11 points to cut the deficit to just two at 39-37 capped by a Sydney Hill (Newport Beach, Calif.) jumper at the 6:04 mark.
After trading baskets back-and-forth over the next four minutes, the Eagles completed the comeback on the strength of a pair of Loisel jumpers just seven seconds apart giving the visitors their first lead of the night at 50-49 with 2:21 remaining in the game.
Another bucket by Loisel extended the lead to three at 52-49, but the inexperience of a squad comprised mostly of first-year players could not close out the game as the team went cold down the stretch giving up six unanswered points.
Despite the loss, some positive takeaways from the game were the Eagles' effort on the glass which saw the team outrebound its opponent by a margin of 55-42 which created several quality, second-chance opportunities. The team also received a great collective contribution from its reserves which combined for 14 points.
Loisel's offensive outburst came thanks to a 10-of-16 performance from the floor. Senior Torie Cowell (Rochester, N.Y.) and the freshman Hill each notched eight points with Cowell also picking up eight rebounds with hill notching three boards and a pair of assists. Freshman Sherelle Jackson (Greenville, S.C.) contributed six points, five boards and four steals in her collegiate debut. In fact, of the nine Eagles players, six of them were playing in their first-ever collegiate basketball game.
Green Mountain will look to put this experience into practice during its next game when the team hosts Fisher College on Monday at 5:30 p.m.