'Roos Fall in Final Seconds of Double Overtime

SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker on Saturday evening, falling 60-59 in double overtime when the University of St. Thomas completed a three-point play just before time expired. The 'Roos are now 7-11 overall and 3-7 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

It was a defensive battle throughout between the 'Roos and the Celts, with both teams struggling to shoot the ball and committing a combined 63 turnovers in the game. Austin College led 9-7 after the opening quarter and held a 22-18 lead at halftime, but St. Thomas used a big third quarter in which they shot 53.3% from the field to take a 37-35 lead into the fourth. 

Austin College surged ahead 43-39 midway through the fourth, and held a 46-42 cushion with 2:08 left to play, but Amyia Bowie scored with a minute to play and Amber Bourgeois scored with 31 seconds left to tie things up. Austin College had a chance to win at the buzzer but was unable to convert, sending the game to overtime. The first overtime saw the 'Roos take a 50-46 lead after buckets from Brooklyn Matthews and Maya Dodson, but the Celts regained the lead at 53-52 on a basket by Rayvn Ellis with 1:34 left. Trinity Wiliams knocked down 1-of-2 from the free throw line for the 'Roos with just over a minute left, and after neither team was able to score on their final possessions, the game went to a second extra frame.

Austin College led 58-55 with 49 seconds to play, and after Kenna Gibson scored with 16 seconds left to pull the Celts to within one, Williams hit 1-of-2 from the stripe to give the 'Roos a 59-57 lead. Following a scramble for the ball under the St. Thomas basket, the ball wound up in the hands of Gibson, who hit a floater in the paint while being fouled with one second left, and Gibson sank the game-winning free throw to make it a 60-59 final.

Williams made 5-of-12 shots to finish with a team-high 14 points, adding eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals, and Matthews was 5-of-10 for 13 points and just missed out on a double-double with nine boards. Dodson and Avory Miller each chipped in nine points. Bowie led all scorers with 22 points for the Celts, adding 10 rebounds, six assists, and five steals.