The Siena Heights Women's Basketball Team didn't do anything easy at home against Indiana Tech, but they battled back to come away with a 73-71 victory in overtime to remain undefeated at home.
In what was a slow, and at times sloppy game for the Saints in the first half, through long back and forth action, the game was knotted at 27 at the end of the first half. Both teams started out shooting very poorly, scoring only 28 points between them in the first 13:12 of the game.
In the second half, the Saints came out of the break slow and went back and forth with the Warriors for the first few minutes of the half. However, with just under 12 minutes left to play, the Warriors went on a 12-0 run and built their lead to as high as 15 points with only 6:19 left in the game. That is when the Saints started their comeback. Over the final six minutes, the Saints went on a 21-6 run to force overtime.
With only four minutes left, the Saints were still down ten points and with only 42 second left, they still had a six point hole to dig out of. A free throw by Nikki Hughes brought the Saints to within five, then a Tanci Levit three pointer brought the Saints to within two points after a team offensive rebound from the second of Hughes' free throws. With only 23 seconds left, the Saints forced a turnover and when Lauren Crockett was fouled with 12 seconds left, she calmly sunk both free throws despite a timeout called by Indiana Tech prior to the second shot. Levit took a charge with only four seconds left in the game to get the ball back for the Saints but they were unable to capitalize and win in regulation.
In overtime, the Saints took the lead and wouldn't relinquish it. Both Erin Cassidy and Crockett hit one of two free throws early, followed by a basket by Shalaha Hubbard to build a four point lead. A basket by Hughes with the bonus free throw put the Saints up by five. Indiana Tech came back with a three of their own to pull to within two points, but couldn't capitalize on two more missed free throws (17-31 on the night) by the Saints, the Warriors were unable to score in the closing seconds of the game, so the Saints hung on for the two point win.
Leading the way for the Saints was Levit with 15 points. She was followed by Cassidy with 14 points, Hubbard and Crockett with 13 points and Hughes with 11 points. Cassidy had another double-double with 17 rebounds while Hughes earned her own double-double with 14 rebounds. On the night, the Saints outrebounded the Warriors 52-42. Levit also led the Saints with seven assists while Crockett led the team with two steals. Cassidy led the team with a career high five blocks on a night in which the Saints blocked nine shots.
With the win, the Saints move to 14-7 on the season and 3-2 in the WHAC. They will return to action on Saturday when they host Cornerstone at 3:00 pm. The game will be preceded by the JV team against Rochester College.