FAIRFIELD, CONN. (February 28, 2015)—For the second time this season, the Sacred Heart women's basketball team faced LIU Brooklyn in an overtime battle Saturday on Coach Bike Court. This time, behind four players' double-digit scoring performances, the Pioneers were victorious using 16 overtime points to claim the 78-71 win over the Blackbirds on Senior Day. Hannah Kimmel (Harpursville, N.Y.) led the way with her eleventh double-double of the season totaling 24 points with 10 rebounds as SHU improves to 16-11 overall and 11-6 against Northeast Conference foes. The loss drops LIU Brooklyn to 9-19 on the season and 6-11 in NEC play.
LIU Brooklyn opened scoring putting the first points on the board with Jolanna Ford's layup, but Gabrielle Washington (Mesa, Ariz.), who tallied 15 points, answered with a triple from the left wing starting back-and-forth action between the two squads.
On the fast break, Katie Shepard (Lone Tree, Colo.) passed through the defenders to find Adaysha Williams (LaCrosse, Wis.) down the lane for a layup giving the Pioneer's their first lead of the game, 11-10 with 14:28 remaining in the first half. LIU responded immediately with a three-pointer reclaiming the lead, 13-11.
The lead exchanged five times through the next five minutes with the Blackbirds holding a 23-19 advantage. LIU capitalized on 17 Pioneer turnovers in the first half for 13 points helping them to a 36-29 lead at halftime.
The Pioneers chipped away early in the second half with a 5-2 run cutting LIU's lead to 38-34 by the 15:50 media timeout. Just before the 14-minute mark, Williams landed a contested lay-in that got her sent to the line for the and-one foul shot that brought SHU within one of catching the Blackbirds. Getting the ball back off an LIU turnover, Lerae Ettienne (Kensington, Md.) used a spin move in the paint to put Sacred Heart ahead 39-38. Johanna Lopez (Silver Spring, Md.) pulled down the defensive rebound on LIU's next possession tossing the ball to Shepard for the fast break layup increasing the Pioneers' lead forcing LIU Brooklyn Head Coach Gail Striegler to call a timeout.
With 4:05 on the clock, Shanovia Dove minimized Sacred Heart's lead to one point with a pair from the charity stripe, but Hannah Kimmel (Harpursville, N.Y.) quickly answered with a jumper in the paint expanding SHU's lead back to three points, 58-55.
Hanging close, the Blackbirds were able to come back knotting the score at 62 with 1:15 left in the game. The score remained there until the end of regulation sending the game into overtime.
The teams exchanged points throughout the first three minutes of the overtime period before Washington and Kimmel combined for a six-point run giving Sacred Heart a 72-67 lead with 1:18 left to play. The duo combined for all 16 of SHU's overtime points with Kimmel's 10 points and the team combining to shoot 62.5% from the floor in overtime, the Pioneers maintained their lead to the buzzer.
With 12 points and eight assists, Shepard just missed her second career double-double, while Ettienne also flirted with on with eight points and seven rebounds.
Sacred Heart travels to Fairleigh Dickinson Monday night for the regular season finale at 7:00 p.m. Next Sunday, March 8, the Pioneers will take on the No. 5 seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinal at home on Coach Bike Court.
