Women's Basketball Loses to Wingate in Double-Overtime
The Lions lost to SAC rival Wingate 106-103 in double-overtime in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon in Stanford Arena
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions lost to SAC rival Wingate 106-103 in double-overtime in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon in Stanford Arena. Mars Hill fell to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the league. The Bulldogs improved to 3-1 on the season, 2-0 in the SAC.
Wingate put together a 8-0 run in the second overtime, claiming a 106-103 double overtime victory. Mars Hill rallied from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit to force extra time.
Mars Hill had three players score 17 points each: Ansley Ricker, Genice Lane and Kelsey Espinosa. Six Lions hit double digits, as Shakira Allen contributed 13 points while Paige Chavis and Cadence Wilmoth added 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
Shelby Tricoli recorded 25 points to lead Wingate. She hit 10-of-19 field goals with three-of-five accuracy from three-point land. Courtney Robinson followed with 17 points. She added four assists, three rebounds and three steals to her statistical ledger Saturday.
Mars Hill led 95-91 in the second overtime when Raven Brown hit two free throws with 3:07 to play. Wingate's Danasia Witherspoon started the rally with a lay-up 13 seconds later. Witherspoon was fouled on the shot; she could not convert the free throw. Miscenko began her scoring flurry by putting back the miss to tie the game 95-95 at the 2:50 plateau.
Averette (2:17) and Miscenko (1:39) concluded the pivotal 8-0 run with lay-ups to make the score 99-95 Bulldogs with 99 ticks left on the second overtime clock. Miscenko made two buckets in the final 47 seconds and Alex Tomlinson hit three-of-four free throws in the last eight seconds to keep the Lions at bay.
Mars Hill outscored Wingate 32-12 in the fourth quarter to force the first overtime. The Bulldogs led 67-50 on two free throws by Tomlinson with 7:49 left in the fourth frame. An inside hoop by Tricoli at the 4:40 mark pushed the margin to 73-56. The 17-point advantage was Wingate's largest of the afternoon.
The host Lions finished the fourth quarter on a 19-2 run to tie the contest at 75-75. Three MHU different players made three-point field goals during the flurry. Genice Lane hit two, while Allen and Ricker nailed one each. Ricker's triple from the right side tied the game 75-75 with 26 seconds left in regulation.
Both teams scored 14 points each in the first overtime frame. Wingate shot 63.2 percent in the two overtime periods (12-of-19), while Mars Hill converted 60 percent (six-of-10) of its extra-time field goals. The Lions made 14-of-15 free throws (93.3 percent) in the two overtime sessions.
Wingate led 38-25 at halftime, thanks to 13 first-half points from Tricoli. Allen led Mars Hill with six first-half markers. The Bulldogs shot 44.4 percent in the first half (16-of-36), while the MHU Lions managed only 28.9 percent (11-of-38). The hosts made seven-of-12 three-point field goals after intermission to get back into the game.
Mars Hill outrebounded Wingate by a slim 53-52 margin. Lane had 11 rebounds to give her the game's only double-double. Both Lane and Chavis played a team-best 37 minutes. Lane filled out her stat sheet with four assists, four steals and four blocked shots.
Wingate finished the 50-minute contest shooting 47.1 percent from the floor (41-of-87) with 72 points in the paint. Mars Hill shot 39.5 percent from the field (34-of-86) with only 38 points in the paint.
Mars Hill turned 20 Wingate turnovers into 25 points. Wingate managed only 14 points from 18 MHU miscues. The Lions held a 22-18 advantage in second-chance points, while the Bulldogs won the fast-break points (14-6) and bench points (40-39) categories.
Mars Hill will host SAC foe Catawba at 2 p.m. in Stanford Arena on Saturday, December 12.
