BOX SCORE
PHOTO GALLERY
The Saint Vincent women's basketball team upset previously unbeaten and 21st-ranked Juniata College by a score of 95-93 in overtime at the Carey Center.
Ashlee Darby drove through the lane and scored, and drew a foul with 8.9 seconds to erase a 93-92 deficit and lift the Bearcats to the win.
The Bearcats opened the game in fine form, going up 10-3 after a
Taylor Mathers score with 16:30 left in the first half. Â However, the Eagles then regrouped and went on a 7-0 run to tie the game. Â Later, the visitors took an 18-13 lead near the midway point of the first half, but SVC came back with six straight points on back-to-back threes by
Jillian Kegg and
Elle Collins, taking a 19-18 lead with 9:30 remaining.
The game then bounced back and forth through the rest of the first half. Â An
Ally Schmidt layup with 30 seconds left gave Saint Vincent is 38-37 lead, but Juniata's Paige Dennison hit a three with just five seconds on the clock to give the Eagles a two-point edge, 40-38, at the break.
The first six minutes of the second half belonged to the visitors, as they opened the day's biggest advantage, 9 points, at the 13:20 mark (57-48). Â Another three by Kegg, followed by a conventional three-point play by
Drew Meeker then brought SVC back into the game. Â
With 11 minutes remaining,
Jasmine Weems hit a three to tie the game, 60-60, then followed with another trey 40 seconds later to put SVC in front. Â
After Juniata later tied the game at 65,
Hannah Carroll hit a three to make it 68-65 in favor of the hosts, but the lead continued to change hands throughout the final six minutes. Â
Strong inside play from Mathers spurred the Bearcats, as she reached a career high, hitting a shot with just over 90 seconds left to tie the game - for the 8th time in the second half - at 80, giving her 22 points on the night. Â However, with 1:05 left in regulation, Mathers fouled out, forcing the Bearcats to a five-guard lineup.
With 23.1 seconds left Schmidt scored to give SVC an 82-80 advantage, but there would be a 9th tie in the second half as Jordan Hileman hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to knot the game at 82-82.
SVC had one last chance to end the game in regulation but could not convert, forcing overtime.
Weems opened the OT period with her fourth three-pointer of the night, but the teams once again started to trade leads. Â A basket by Schmidt gave SVC an 89-87 advantage, with back-to-back threes by Olivia Halfpenny gave the visitors a 93-89 advantage with one minute remaining in extra play.
Carroll then came off the bench and hit a clutch three from the top of the key to make it a 93-92 game with 53 seconds left. Â Juniata then came down the court and missed a shot with 28.2 seconds left, but grabbed an offensive rebound and drew a foul. Â Kate McDonald was unable to connect on the free throws, giving the ball back to SVC.
Elle Collins ran the ball downcourt and called timeout with 21.4 seconds left, setting up Darby's eventual game-winner.
The Eagles had one chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but a jump shot from 15 feet away along the baseline was no good.
Mathers led all scorers on the night with 22 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked 4 shots. Â Weems had a career-best 14 points, while Collins and Darby added 10 each. Â Carroll added 9 points, all on three-pointers, while Kegg and
Jessica Welch scored 8 each. Â Schmidt had three steals.
For the Eagles, Halfpenny tallied 21 points, while McDonald had 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Saint Vincent improves to 2-2 on the season, while Juniata drops to 5-1. Â Next up for SVC is the conference opener on Wednesday evening at 5:30, as the team hosts Chatham University in the Carey Center.