GLENSIDE, Pa. - Hood College had a chance for the win trailing by one with the clock running down, but dropped a heartbreaker in the final seconds to Commonwealth Conference foe Arcadia University 56-55 this afternoon.

After Allie Appleby (Bel Air, Md. / C. Milton Wright) converted a traditional 3-point play to give the Blazers a 55-54 advantage with 26 seconds on the clock, the Knights' Victoria Mazzeo made a tough layup with five seconds left for the lead. Hood could not get a final shot off as the Arcadia defense applied constricting pressure.

In the teams' first meeting at BB&T Arena on January 11, Mazzeo laid in the game-winning basket with under one second to go, with the Knights claiming the 59-57 victory.

Similar to the first game, Hood found itself down by two-possesions in the final minutes. After going down 54-50, Brittney George (Middletown, Md. / Middletown) hit two free throws with 1:11 left to help set up Appleby's big play. 

The contest was close throughout, with neither team having a lead bigger than a seven-point advantage by the Knights. The Blazers' biggest lead came at 11:56 of the first half, after Appleby hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 11-5. 

George made a layup with 7:17 left in the half to make the score 22-18 in favor of the visitors, but Arcadia responded with a 8-0 to take a 26-22 lead with 3:31 remaining. The Knights rode the momentum into halftime, leading 29-25.

After Dominique Hassinger extended the lead to 31-25 at the start of the second half, Rachel Kessler (Middletown, Md. / Middletown) and Danni Medovich (Woodsboro, Md. / Walkersville) went on a 9-0 run to give the Blazers the lead back at 34-31 with 16:47 remaining. 

With 12:36 on the clock, Jessy Burke (Monrovia, Md. / Linganore) added two points to give Hood a 40-35 lead, but again the Knights responded a run to take a 41-40 lead with 10:40 left in the game. Appleby hit another long-range shot to get the 43-41 advantage just six seconds later. 

Hood would not have the lead again until Appleby hit the free throw with 26 seconds left. Arcadia kept the Blazers from getting too close, and built up a seven-point lead, 53-46, with 4:13 on the clock. Kessler cut the lead to 53-50 with a jumper with 2:58 remaning. 

Appleby led the Hood with 13 points with nine coming from the long ball. She shot 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, single-handedly shooting better than the Knights did from long range (1-of-8). 

Kessler, Medovich, and Rachel Wiley (Frederick, Md. / Tuscarora) all had nine points for the guests, and Wiley added a game-high 11 boards. Kessler had a game-high five steals. 

Valerie Dimero had a game-high 21 points for the hosts, shooting 8-of-8 from the floor. Mary Badeen scored 14, with seven coming from the free throw line. Mazzeo had six points, including the two biggest points of the game. 

Both teams shot around 65 percent from the charity stripe, the Blazers went 11-of-17 and Arcadia finished 13-of-20. 

Hood outrebounded the Knights 43-39, which led to a 9-6 second-chance points advantage.

The Blazers return home to entertain Lebanon Valley on February 5, tipoff is set from 6 p.m.