EAST PEORIA, Ill. – The Parkland women's basketball team pushed third-ranked North Iowa Area Community College, but couldn't pull the upset as the Cobras fell 88-76 in the 2018 Illinois Central College Cougar Holiday Tournament Third Place game on Sunday. Leading the charge for Parkland were double-doubles from forwards Micah Tapscott (25 points, 12 rebounds) and Emily Meinert (17 points, 11 rebounds).

Playing their second ranked opponent in as many days, Parkland pushed No. 3 North Iowa Area (10-3) for three quarters with only two points separating them from the Trojans entering the final period. However, the Trojans outscored the Cobras by 10 points in the final ten minutes to take third place. Down three after the first quarter, the Cobras trailed by nine (47-38) at halftime before using a 21-14 advantage out of the break to cut the deficit to two points.

Leading Parkland throughout the afternoon were its two starting forwards, as Tapscott and Meinert combined for 42 of the team's 76 points and 23 of the team's 45 rebounds. The duo was also efficient in scoring their 42 points, combining for a .680 shooting percentage. The double-double for Meinert was her team-leading fourth of the season, while Tapscott recorded her second of the season.

After a below-average shooting performance on Saturday, the Cobras bounced back on Sunday by knocking down 45 percent of their field goal attempts, including 42 percent from three-point range. Of the 29 made shots, Parkland assisted on 21 of them. Defensively, the Cobras pulled down 45 rebounds and created nine steals including six takeaways from guard Gemma Recasens.

Shooting an efficient 12 of 18 from the field on Sunday afternoon, including her first three-pointer of the season, sophomore Micah Tapscott scored the most points in Parkland career since tallying 25 just over a year ago against Kankakee on December 29, 2017. The 25 points is also just two points shy of her career high, a 27-point performance at home against Triton on December 2, 2017.

Setting her team-leading fourth double-double, Meinert joined Tapscott's efficiency in the paint with seven of 10 shooting to go along with a perfect three-of-three from the foul line. Adding in 11 rebounds to her 17 points, the first-year Cobra also handed out three assists.

In addition to the post presence, the Cobras also received hot three-point shooting from guards Gemma Recasens and Alexus Cole, combining for seven threes on the day. Both joining Tapscott and Meinert in double-digit scoring, Recasens scored 14 points while Cole added 12 off the bench. Recasens also dished out four assists and a team-high six steals.

Other notable performances for the Cobras came from forward Cassie Russo's eight rebounds off the bench, including three on the offensive end, and a team-leading five assists from point guard Olivia Babcock.

Dropping to 9-5 on the season, the Cobras will look to get back in the win column when they return home on Friday, January 4, to open 2019 against Kishwaukee at 5:30 p.m. central time.