YORK, Neb. – The York University women's basketball team lost an 81-73 contest to Ottawa Friday afternoon in a game that was originally slated for Saturday.

The Panthers are now 6-15 on the season, including 1-13 in KCAC action.
 
Head coach Corinna Minjarez's squad was led by Destiny Shepherd's game-high 24 points and four assists. She was one of four student-athletes to record double figures for York. 

Zoe Brown and Olivia Adams had 12 points apiece while Yareli Gomez added 10 markers. Adams snagged seven boards while Gomez grabbed five. Lauren Perez tallied four points. Monique Contreras, Alliyana Page and Amaya Payne netted three points apiece while Alesia Rand had two. 

Contreras led the defense with three steals. Shepherd and Sylvia Valentino added two thefts apiece.

In the tightly contested first frame, Shepherd's two free throws gave the squad a 4-2 edge. A steal by Shepherd led to a lay-up by Brown. Shepherd netted two lay-ups for a 10-5 margin, giving the Panthers their largest lead of the game. Tied at 13-13, Page found Adams for an inside bucket. Shepherd found Adams for a lay-up, giving the home squad a 17-15 advantage. However, Ottawa took a 20-18 lead entering the second period.

Down 26-18, Shepherd converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 7:34 mark. Trailing 39-26, Lawson Hiltl hit Brown for a three-point bucket with 2:13 to go before halftime. Ottawa scored on a lay-up at the buzzer, making it 45-30 at the break.  

Gomez started the third stanza with a basket. Page hit two free throws, bringing the Panthers within 11, 45-34. With the score at 50-36, Adams canned two charity tosses as did Perez. York trailed 63-45, but Payne netted a shot and Gomez made two free throws, pulling the Panthers within 14, 63-49, entering the fourth frame.

Shepherd took a pass from Perez and nailed a three-ball to start the quarter. Gomez's jumper sliced the deficit to 11, 70-59. With just over five minutes to play, the Panthers trimmed the deficit to 10. At the 4:31 mark, Contreras hit Brown for a shot from downtown, making it 72-65. Shepherd cut the margin to six, 78-72, at the 1:14 mark, but that was as close as the squad could get.

For the game, York hit 22-of-57 from the floor, including six-of-26 from downtown. The team buried 23-of-35 free throws. York scored 24 points in the paint and had 14 points off 17 turnovers. Minjarez's team pulled down 32 rebounds.  

The Panthers return to action Wednesday when they host Bethany at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at Yorkpanthers.com.