FAIRFIELD, CONN. (January 31, 2015)—Gabrielle Washington tallied a season-best before the halftime buzzer and continued to be a strong offensive presence in throughout the game leading all-players with 29 points in the Sacred Heart women's basketball team's 71-64 overtime victory over Mount St. Mary's Saturday afternoon on Coach Bike Court in the William H. Pitt Center. Hannah Kimmel (Harpursville, N.Y.) recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds as the Pioneers even their record at 9-9 and 4-4 in Northeast Conference play. The loss drops the Mountaineers to 7-13 on the season and 5-4 against conference opponents.
Washington accounted for all eight of the Pioneers' points in the opening four minutes of the game as Sacred Heart jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. The senior was the driving force behind SHU's offense in the first half owning 15 points in the first eight minutes.
Sacred Heart continued to thrive in the first half, heading into halftime with a 37-23 lead. Washington posted a new season-high tallying 25 points before the halftime buzzer while shooting 64.2% (9-for-14) from the floor.
The Mount opened the second half with five straight points with from a triple from Jacqueline Brewer and a Jenn Carney jumper before Kimmel got the Pioneers going again with a layup and the and one after being sent to the line after a foul was called on Jessica Harris.
With Mount St. Mary's narrowing the gap to eight points, 42-34, Adaysha Williams (LaCrosse, Wis.), who totaled 12 points, knocked down a three from the right wing to bring the Pioneers' lead back to double-digits just before the 14-minute mark. The Mount's offense didn't slow though answering with a layup, but Kimmel managed one of her own just seconds later to fend off MSM.
With 10:44 left in the game, Carney landed a triple from the top of the key igniting a 15-5 Mount St. Mary's run that spanned over six minutes and limited SHU's lead to 59-55 forcing Sacred Heart Head Coach Jessica Mannetti to use a timeout.
With just over two minutes left, Brewer managed a trey from the right wing bringing the Mount within just one point of catching Sacred Heart. Williams fended them off, landing both free throws after being sent to the line after picking up a foul under the basket extending SHU's lead to 61-58.
In a big spot, with less than a minute on the clock and the Pioneers up just one 61-60, Harris' jumper deflected off the backboard and Kimmel pulled down the rebound, her tenth of the game, putting the ball back in the hands to the Sacred Heart offense.
Coming out of another Sacred Heart called timeout, Harris got called for another foul this time sending Kimmel to the line. Hitting one of two shots, the red shirt junior made it a two-point game. Getting down to their end quickly, the Mount got off a shot that fell short of the rim, but Seraphina Arthur-Williams grabbed the offensive board and put it in the basket to send the game into overtime.
Shepard had the first points of the overtime period starting a nine-point SHU run that lasted nearly the entire five minutes. Mount St. Mary's managed just one basket with less than 18 seconds to play. Williams accounted for five of Sacred Heart's overtime points landing two jumpers and a free throw.
The Pioneers hit the road Monday night when they travel to Staten Island to face the Wagner Seahawks at 7:00 p.m.
