SHERMAN, Texas –Southwestern University scored with five seconds to play in the second overtime and Austin College's last second effort rimmed out as the 'Roo women's basketball team fell 69-67 in double overtime on Friday night. The 'Roos are now 11-3 overall and 4-1 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.
Austin College got out to a quick start, taking a 10-2 lead on a three by Ann Savage with 4:47 left in the opening quarter but Southwestern used a 12-1 run to lead 14-11 heading into the second. The 'Roos went ice cold in the second frame, hitting just 3-of-15 shots as the Pirates took a 26-18 lead into halftime.
The 'Roos trimmed the margin to four at 30-26 on a three by Reagan Chiaverini with 3:47 left in the third, and after a pair of free throws by Natalie McCoy kept it a four point margin at 34-30, the Pirates hit a pair of threes in the final minute to push the lead to 40-30 heading into the fourth. Bryce Frank scored 10 of her game-high 19 points in the fourth as Austin College came storming back, but Southwestern would take a 51-48 lead into the closing seconds of the game.
With just one tenth of second left in the game, Savage drew a foul on a three point attempted and knocked down all three free throws to force the first overtime. Austin College took a 58-53 lead on a three-point-play by McCoy with 1:54 left in overtime, but Zhazze Brown hit a three to cut it to a 59-58 game with under a minute to play. After Savage knocked down one of two free throws with five seconds left, Brown took it the length of the floor and drilled a 17-footer as time expired to force a second extra period.
The 'Roos scored the first two points of the second overtime but six in a row for Southwestern made it a 66-62 game with 1:03 left, but Savage buried a triple with 34 seconds on the clock to cut it to a one point game. Chiaverini tied things up at 67 apiece with 22 seconds left, but Tori Carraway scored in the paint with five seconds left to propel the Pirates to the win.
Frank finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds and Savage added 17 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. McCoy came off the bench to score 12 points, and Chiaverini had nine points and 11 boards. The 'Roos shot just 28.2% from the field, including 16.1% from long distance.
Brown led the Pirates with 17 points, and Noel Pratts added 13 points and nine rebounds. Carraway finished with seven points and 10 rebounds for Southwestern. The Pirates forced Austin College into 19 turnovers in the game.
Austin College will be looking to rebound tomorrow as they host Texas Lutheran with tip-time set for 4:00 p.m.