Box Score DANVILLE, Ill. – Despite erasing a 10-point deficit at halftime, Parkland women's basketball were unable to finish off the comeback in a 48-45 loss at Danville Area CC on Saturday. Dropping to 14-11 on the season, the Cobras were led by 16 points from Micah Tapscott and 14 points from Cassie Russo.
 
Trailing 44-42 with under three minutes remaining, sophomore guard Crystal Mathis forced a turnover at the top of the key and turned it into a layup-and-one at the other end. Leading by one, Danville Area held the Cobras off the scoreboard for the final two minutes and hit a back-breaking layup with 12.4 seconds left. Getting the ball back down three, Parkland guard Alexus Cole's late three-point attempt missed the mark as time expired.
 
Leading the Parkland offense, Tapscott and Russo powered the offense in the paint. Tapscott scored in double figures for the 15^th time this season with 12 second-half points, while Russo set a new career high on five of nine shooting. Joining the two forwards in double figures, sophomore guard Crystal Mathis added 10 points, including a team-high nine in the first half.
 
Setting up the Parkland production inside, the Cobras received 10 assists combined from guards Olivia Babcock and Gemma Rescasens. Babcock led the team with six assists, while Rescasens added in four of her own.  
 
Parkland scored six of the game's eight points, while holding Danville Area without a point for the opening 3:51 on Saturday. All three baskets assisted by Gemma Rescasens, the Cobras took a 6-2 lead before Danville Area responded with an 8-0 run over the next five minutes. Trailing 10-6, buckets from Russo and Mathis tied the score, 10-10, before a late jumper from the Jaguars gave the home team a 12-10 lead to end the quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Mathis and Tapscott continued to pace the Cobras, but a late run by the host Jaguars put the Cobras in a 10-point halftime hole. Trailing by six points early in the quarter, Russo, Tapscott and Mathis each scored to cut the lead down to 23-19 with three minutes remaining. However, Danville Area went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes, leading 31-19, before a pair of Russo free throws cut the lead back to 10 to end the half.
 
After ending the first half with a pair of free throws, Parkland added an 11-0 run to start the second half, highlighted by eight straight points from Tapscott. While switching to a zone defense held the Jaguars without a point for the first 7:25 of the period, Tapscott made four straight buckets before a Meinert offensive rebound and put back gave the Cobras its first lead, 32-31, since early in the first quarter. Unfortunately, the lead was short lived as Danville Area again ended the quarter on a scoring run, grabbing seven straight points and holding Parkland without a point in the final 2:50.
 
Trailing 38-32 to start the fourth quarter, the Cobras again went on another early-quarter run to tie the score, 40-40, with seven minutes remaining behind four points from Russo. Parkland tied the game again, 42-42, on a Russo layup with five minutes left and then took the lead, 45-44, off a Mathis steal before the Jaguars closed the game with four straight points in the final 90 seconds.
 
Up next, Parkland continues its five-game road swing with a trip to No. 10 Lincoln Land on Wednesday, February 20, at 5:30 p.m. and a game at John Wood on Saturday, February 23, at 1 p.m.