FREDERICK, Md. - The Hood College women's basketball team lost its second consecutive two-point game tonight, falling to the Albright College Lions 63-61 in Commonwealth Conference action tonight. 

The Blazers had a chance to tie up the game with two seconds on the clock, but Allie Appleby (Bel Air, Md. / C. Milton Wright) was fouled before she could get the 3-point shot off and was sent to the line. After making the first, she intentionally missed the second, but Eboni Staples (Laurel, Md. / Don Bosco Cristo Rey) tip-in was short. 

Danni Medovich (Woodsboro, Md. / Walkersville) led Hood with 16 points, shooting 67 percent (4-of-6) from long range. Rachel Kessler (Middletown, Md. / Middletown) was the only other Blazer in double-figures with 10 points and a game-high three steals. 

Three Lions were in double-figures, led by Kelecia Harris and Emily O'Donnell who both recorded double-doubles. Harris had a game-high 18 points and 18 boards, while O'Donnell had 17 and snagged 13 rebounds. Kristi McFadden added 14 points, and was a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range. 

Medovich started off the game scoring six of Hood's first 12 points from the long ball, as she hit her first two 3-pointers. Kessler gave the Blazers the 14-13 lead with two free throws at the 10:10 mark, and Jessy Burke (Monrovia, Md. / Linganore) added another one 20 seconds later for the 15-13 lead.

Albright then went on a 5-0 run over the next four minutes to take an 18-15 lead, Staples ended the drought with a jumper to cut the deficit to 18-17 with 5:54 remaining in the half.  

Trailing 23-19 with just over four minutes left, Kessler hit a jumper that seemed to spark the Lions' defense as the guests outscored Hood 9-3 over the last few minutes that resulted in a 32-24 halftime lead. 

Back-to-back baskets by Kessler and Medovich cut the lead to 32-28 in the first 75 seconds of the half. Albright responded with a 12-1 run to build a 44-29 lead, that Medovich ended with a 4-point play with 14:45 on the clock. That sparked a 10-0 run for Hood that got the Blazers back within 44-39 with 11:18 left. 

The Lions built up a 10 point lead and held Hood from getting within seven points until Medovich hit another long ball with 1:32 remaining to make it a 61-56 score. Verkia Smith (Waldorf, Md. / North Point) added a pair from the charity stripe with 56 seconds left to cut it to 61-58. 

After an Albright turnover, Rachel Wiley (Frederick, Md. / Tuscarora) made a layup with 17 seconds to go, to get the Blazers within one at 61-60. Two Lions' free throws with 15 seconds left extended the lead to 63-60, and a steal by Medovich with five seconds on the clock led to the final opportunity for Hood. 

The Blazers committed a season-low 16 turnovers and forced Albright into 34 turnovers, the most for the Hood defense this year, and ties a season-high for the Lions. That led to 19 points of turnovers for the Blue and Grey, and only 11 for the visitors. 

The Blazers shot 70 percent (21-of-30) from the free throw line, with Smith shooting 7-of-8 to lead the team. 

Hood returns to action on January 18 when the team travels to take on Widener University at 1 p.m.