ELMHURST, Ill. – A pair of late turnovers doomed the Elmhurst College women's basketball team in a 68-64 loss to Coe College.

Elmhurst (6-5) held a four-point cushion with four minutes remaining after a layup from Hannah Lipman. Coe (9-2) used four straight free throws from Allie Wirth to tie the contest with 3:26 remaining. The two teams traded buckets to keep the score even at 60-60. Mickey Hansche knocked down a three-pointer to Coe in front 63-60 with 1:47. The Bluejays sliced the lead down to one after a Michaela Kumer bucket. Hannah Henderson came up with a steal on Coe's next possession, but with a chance to take the lead, the Bluejays turned the ball over on an entry pass to the post. The turnover led to a layup for Aleena Hobbs and gave Coe a 65-62 lead with just over 20 seconds remaining.

A turnover on an inbounds pass forced the Bluejays to foul and Hansche hit a pair of free throws to push Coe's lead up to five at 67-62. Lisa Logan hit a layup with eight seconds remaining to bring Elmhurst back to within three points, but Hobbs split a pair of free throws with six seconds left to seal the win for Coe.

Coe led for much of the first quarter, bringing a 17-10 lead into the second. The Kohawks led by 10 with just under seven minutes to play in the half, but Elmhurst closed the half on a 23-9 run to take a 39-35 lead into the half.

Elmhurst scored the third quarter's opening bucket, but Coe rattled off the next 16 points in a five-minute span, taking a 51-41 lead in the process. The Kohawks led by 11 with 3:25 left in the third, but Elmhurst scored the final seven points of the quarter to pull to within four points after three quarters. Elmhurst scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to take a 58-54 lead and set up the down to the wire finish.

Elmhurst shot 42.6 percent (28-of-61) from the floor but struggled from downtown, hitting just 3-of-15 (20.0 percent) attempts from three-point range. The Bluejays won the battle inside, outscoring Coe 42-26 in the paint and finishing with +5 advantage (37-32) on the glass.

Mikaela Eppard paced Elmhurst in the loss, finishing one rebound shy of a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds. Hannah Henderson came off the bench to score 11, shooting 4-of-7 from the field. Annette Stidham also scored a season-high 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Kumer added nine points and four assists for the Bluejays.

Coe finished the game shooting 41.5 percent (22-of-53), including 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from downtown. The Kohawks' starting lineup accounted for all but two of the team's points with four players reaching double figures. Hansche led the way with 24 points while Wirth and Hobbs totaled 15 points and seven rebounds apiece. Jenna Lehmann added 12 points and three assists for the Kohawks.

Elmhurst opens CCIW play on Saturday, January 2, by hosting Illinois Wesleyan at 2:00 p.m.