'Roo Women Top North Park in Overtime

SHERMAN, Texas – The Austin College women's basketball team trailed most of the way against North Park University, but the 'Roos managed to fight their way back and earn a 59-54 overtime victory over the Vikings on Sunday afternoon. Austin College improves to 5-4 overall with the win.

North Park scored the first five points of the game and jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, and the margin grew to 17-6 with 9:17 to play as the 'Roos struggled to get anything going offensively in the opening half. Katie Gowdy scored three points and Christina Kime hit a layup to pull Austin College to 19-11, but North Park scored the next four to take a 23-11 lead with 5:49 to play.

A three pointer from Jenna Longo helped the 'Roos chip away at the margin and make it 25-18 with 2:15 on the clock but the Vikings would convert a three point play with less than three seconds before halftime to head into the locker room with a 28-19 lead. North Park used 13 first half offensive rebounds to control much of the first half action.

The North Park lead quickly grew to 13 as the second half got underway, with a Rachel Torres basket making it 33-20, but Kime scored five in a row to get the deficit back into single digits. Chrissy Ray made a bucket and Olivia Bailey knocked down a three pointer to trim it to a 36-32 game with 11:46 left to play. Bailey scored again to cut it to a three point game, but North Park answered with a triple to make it 40-34 with 10:38 on the clock.

Brianna Harvey scored six in a row for Austin College as the 'Roos pulled even for the first time since tipoff at 42-42 with 4:40 left to play, and after the Vikings regained the lead, Kime sliced to the basket for another bucket to once again square things at 44 apiece. Annie Shain scored with 1:51 to play to give North Park a 48-46 lead, but Kime found Harvey for a basket 25 seconds later and the teams would go to overtime knotted at 48-48.

Erin Riley buried a trey from the top of the key with 3:00 left in overtime to give Austin College its first lead of the game at 51-48, and Harvey and Riley each knocked down a pair of free throws to push it to a 55-49 'Roo lead before Shain drilled a three to cut it to a one possession game with 49 seconds to play.

That's as close as things would get, however, as Kime scored four in a row in the game's final minutes to seal the game for Austin College. Kime finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists and Harvey finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and adding 12 boards.

Riley chipped in five points, all in overtime, and nine rebounds, and Bailey came off the bench to score five points and grab seven boards. Ray added four points, six rebounds, and three blocks for the 'Roos.

Shain led the Vikings with 11 points and seven rebounds, and Torres had a game-high five assists in the loss as the 'Roos held North Park to just 27% shooting overall and 17% shooting from beyond the arc. Austin College also held a 52-41 edge on the glass, including a 23-10 advantage after halftime.

Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.