ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After not playing in a single overtime game all last season, the College of Saint Benedict basketball team has now been a part of two in the last two days.
After needing two overtimes to beat Nebraska Wesleyan Friday night, CSB needed one extra quarter to decide its game against Simpson Saturday afternoon in the second day of the Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Tournament.
Alex Johnson scored in the final two seconds of regulation to tie the game 72-72 and send it to overtime, but the Storm hit a late three and held on for an 84-80 win in Claire Lynch Hall.
After
Megan Thompson scored to start the fourth quarter and tie the game at 59-59, the lead changed hands five times before Simpson (3-0) hit back-to-back threes to go up 70-66 with 5:09 left in regulation. Johnson scored, but the Storm pushed their lead back to four with 3:25 to play. Johnson scored again with 1:41 left, and after a series of turnovers, she pulled down an offensive rebound on a missed shot by Thompson and tied the game at 72-72 with 2.4 seconds left, and Simpson missed a last-second jumper to send the game to overtime.
Thompson and
Maddie Schmitz each hit a three to start overtime and put CSB up 77-74, but Simpson hit a three to tie it before
Sidney Schiffler added a 3-pointer to put CSB up 80-77 with 3:12 left. That turned out to be the last points of the game for CSB, however, as the Storm scored on a jumper, then took an 81-80 lead on a pair of free throws after a foul. A missed jumper and a turnover gave Simpson the ball back with 38 seconds left, and Cameron Kincaid drained a three with 10 seconds left to make it a four-point game. CSB had two last-second shots, but neither fell and the Storm came away with the win.
Simpson held a lead throughout the first quarter, and a late three made it a nine-point game, 28-19 at the end of the first.
Haylee Fingalsen and Johnson both scored to make it a two-point game with 6:51 left in the second, but the Storm pushed their lead back to eight, and held a 44-39 lead at halftime.
CSB went on an 8-0 run to start the second half and take a 47-44 lead after a pair of free throws by Schmitz, and the two teams traded the lead throughout the remainder of the quarter. Simpson led 59-57 at the end of the third leading into the back-and-forth final quarter.
After scoring a career-high 23 points Friday, Schmitz followed that up with 22 points and seven rebounds Saturday to lead the team. Johnson added a career-high 18 points to go with 10 rebounds, and Schiffler (14) and Thompson (12) both scored in double digits.
Breanna Gates finished 10
th 10 rebounds and Thompson also had five assists. CSB shot 46 percent from the field, including 31 percent from long range, and went 4-for-7 from the line. CSB had 44 rebounds and 13 turnovers.
Jenna Taylor led all scorers with 32 points and was named the tournament MVP following Simpson's win. She also had 12 rebounds. Janey Botkins added 17 points for the Storm, who shot 42.5 percent from the field and hit 16 3-pointers. Simpson went 6-for-6 from the line and had 37 rebounds and 13 turnovers.
CSB is off now until Tuesday, Nov. 27, when it takes on Concordia in a nonconference matchup.
