Muncie, Ind. - Junior guard Victoria McGowan (Inkster, Mich.) recorded the fifth triple-double in Stetson women's basketball history and the first in 16 seasons, but the Hatters fell just short Sunday in a 78-73 double overtime loss at Ball State. McGowan, who set or tied career highs in three categories with 26 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and eight steals, hit a three-pointer at the first overtime buzzer to force the second extra session.
McGowan came up just two steals shy of the first quadruple double in program history and was the first to hit double figures in three categories since Lamilia Ford had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals at USF on January 9, 1996. The 26 points tied a career high for the Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason Player of the Year while the 10 assists and eight steals represent her top single-game totals to date. The 11 rebounds are just one short of McGowan's career high.
Stetson fell behind 17-6 to start the game before mounting a 25-8 rally to close the first half; McGowan had 11 points in the first 20 minutes to lead all scorers. The Hatters scored the final eight points of the half to take their first lead.
The Hatters led by as many as five points with 5:19 left in regulation, forcing a Ball State timeout off a layup by freshman guard Jama Sharp (Mooresville, Ind.). Sharp, returning to her native Indiana, had a strong contingent of 100+ fans cheering on her and the Hatters. The Cardinals would respond out of the timeout with eight straight points, but when Stetson needed it most, McGowan found freshman forward Cherisse Burris (Blue Springs, Mo.) for a layup with 17 seconds left that tied the score 56-56 and forced overtime.
Although McGowan scored the first basket of overtime, the Hatters would not lead again in the extra session after Katie Murphy tied it up for BSU. With 13 seconds left and Stetson down three, a Murphy foul allowed McGowan to make two free throws and cut the deficit to 63-62. Stetson fouled after the inbounds and seemed in trouble when Brandy Woody sank both free throw attempts, but McGowan came to the rescue one more time with a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to a second extra session.
The Hatters never led in double overtime; the Cardinals seized control with 2:53 to play as with the score tied, Woody made the first of two free throws and missed the second but got a Jazmin Hitchens offensive rebound and a Stetson foul to allow Hitchens to extend the lead to three. Ball State held Stetson at arm's length the remainder of the way home, holding the Hatters without a field goal in the final 1:54.
McGowan was 10-23 from the floor in 47 minutes to record the remarkable 26/11/10/8 stat line; she was the first Hatter to record 10 assists in a game since Sharnesha Smith at FGCU in January 2009. Junior guard Shanasa Sanders (Jacksonville, Fla.) added 14 points with Burris contributing 10 points. Stetson continued its recent struggles in overtime, dropping its fourth straight and sixth in its last seven when forced to go beyond regulation.
"I tried to focus on cutting hard off ball screens and rebounding aggressively today," McGowan said. "It was exciting to play in front of a lot of our fans on the road - my family came down from Michigan, Ashley Dennis had her family from Ohio and Jama (Sharp) had a bunch from her town come out and support us."
Hitchens and Brittany Carter paced Ball State (4-4) to the win with 20 points apiece; Carter also had six assists and six steals. Mercedes Miller chipped in 11 points and five assists off the bench for the Cardinals with Katie Murphy notching eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds before fouling out in the first overtime session.
Stetson continues its three-game road swing at 7:00 pm Thursday, December 8 at Georgia Southern. Live Stats and Hatter Vision audio will be available at GoHatters.com.
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