GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel College women's basketball team earned a 70-66 non-conference win in overtime Monday over the Hiram Terriers at Beeghly Gymnasium.
The Terriers were clicking early, starting with a 14-4 run in the first 6.5 minutes of the game. The Tomcats cut the lead down, but still trailed 29-23 entering halftime.
The Tomcats came out firing in the second half. After two free throws for each team to bring the score to 31-25, the Tomcats scored 13 unanswered points to take a 38-31 lead and outscored the Terriers 22-11 in the third quarter to take a 45-40 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Terriers regained the lead, but the Tomcats would not go away. Down three with close to three minutes left,
Rachel Breckenridge (Burton, Ohio/Berkshire) hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 53. With the Tomcats down three again with just over a minute left,
Emily Harriman (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) converted on a three-point play, hitting a layup and a free throw, to tie the game again. In the closing seconds, Harriman came through in the clutch again, hitting a game-tying layup with around three seconds left to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, The Tomcats trailed 66-63 with around two minutes left and responded with a seven-point run, with clutch baskets from Breckenridge and Harriman and free throws from
Rebecca Litz (Brookfield, Ohio/Brookfield) and
Lexy Wagner (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) to win 70-66.
Breckenridge led the Tomcats with 18 points, including four three-pointers and six steals.
Destiny Johnson (Baltimore, Md./Western) tallied 15 points. She made 4-of-6 shots from the floor and 6-of-10 from the line. Johnson also chipped in two blocks. Harriman notched a career-high 12 points and led the Tomcats with six assists. Wagner scored eight points and tied for the team-lead with six rebounds.
For the Terriers, Selena Vargas led with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 11 rebounds. Maddie Rakestraw and Haley Thompson notched 12 points apiece. Rakestraw tied for the team-lead with six assists.
The Tomcats improved to 1-1 on the season and will face the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Pomeroys on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
