GREENVILLE, Ill. - Trailing by one with less than 10 seconds remaining, Mikaela Eppard converted on a three-point play and, on the next possession, Hannah Henderson poked away her only steal of the second half to help Elmhurst defeat Greenville 56-52. 
 

Elmhurst led by eight with 5:01 remaining in the fourth quarter, but watched the lead slip away as Greenville went on an 11-2 run to take a one-point lead with 48 seconds to go. Greenville's 30th turnover of the game set up Eppard's three-point play, her only points of the half. The shot came on the Bluejays' third chance, after she grabbed two offensive rebounds. 

In the first quarter, Elmhurst jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but Greenville bounced back with four unanswered points of their own. The teams played a see-saw quarter until the Panthers finished on a 6-2 run to take a 14-12 lead into the first break. 
 

The Bluejays did not lead again until a Claire Monroe three pointer and Annette Stidham jumper capped a 7-2 run to put the Bluejays back in front 22-21. Greenville ended the half with three points in 20 seconds, including a jumper with just three seconds left in the half, to take a two-point lead (24-22) into the locker room. 
 

The Panthers jumped all over the Bluejays in the early portions of the third quarter, opening up a game-high 11-point lead with a 9-0 run. During the stretch, Elmhurst went 0-5 and turned the ball over twice, while Greenville shot 3-3 from the field and 2-2 from the free-throw stripe. A Stidham free throw 2:57 into the half stopped the run and sparked a Bluejays to counter. In a five-minute span, Elmhurst turned the tables by scoring the game's next 10 points and forcing seven Greenville turnovers. 

After trading baskets early in the fourth quarter, the Bluejays took control of the game as Erika Johnson, Stidham, and Monroe combined for an 11-0 run. Monroe's run-capping three pointer looked like the dagger as Elmhurst took a game-high eight-point lead, but Greenville's 11-2 run set up Eppard and Henderson's late-game heroics. 

Monroe led the Bluejays with 13 points on 5-10 shooting and 3-7 from downtown. Stidham scored a career-high 11 points, while shooting 5-7 from the field. Hannah Lipman led Elmhurst in rebounds (eight) and assists (three). Elmhurst shot just 31-percent from the field, bu forced 30 turnovers and gave up the ball just 15 times. 

The Panthers' Laura Goodnight led all scorers with 19 points, while Taylor Paulin also chipped in with 13. Greenville shot 19-36 from the field and 5-9 from three-point range, but could not voerxome the turnovers. 

Elmhurst (2-0) caps off the CCIW/SLIAC Challenge by taking on Westminster (Mo.) tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.