DeLand, Fla. - Sophomore
forward Sasha Sims (Fayetteville,
Ga.) scored a career-high 25
points with 10 rebounds to lead three Hatters with 22 or more points as the
Stetson women's basketball team (14-3, 5-0 Atlantic Sun) survived an extremely
tenacious Jacksonville squad (4-11, 2-2 A-Sun) 93-86 in double overtime
Saturday afternoon at the Edmunds Center. Junior guard Victoria McGowan (Inkster, Mich.)
notched 24 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, narrowly missing a second
straight triple-double, as the Hatters won a school record eighth consecutive
game.
A slow-moving first half that saw JU lead 23-22 heading into
the locker room quickly escalated into a frenetic 94-foot track meet with
driving layups becoming the norm for both teams. The Hatters and Dolphins
combined for 99 points in the second half after just 45 in the first 20
minutes.
Stetson recovered from its sluggish start to lead by as many
as 12 points with 8:42 to go, but a Maggie Wilson three-pointer kickstarted a
24-8 Jacksonville run that swung momentum in the visitor's favor. Jessica
George's layup with 1:09 to go put the Dolphins ahead 67-63 and within reach of
the road upset, but the fireworks were just about to start.
The Hatters tied the game with a 4-0 burst, but Crystal Bell
converted a three-point play with 23 seconds left for a three-point JU lead. An
exchange of free throws left the Hatters down three with just seconds left when
McGowan slipped free and knocked down a three-pointer with six seconds to go
for the 72-72 tie. George's desperation runner on the other end was off the
mark and the game went to overtime.
Neither team led by more than a pair in the first extra
session. McGowan found freshman forward Cherisse Burris (Blue Springs, Mo.)
for a layup at the 1:21 mark that threatened to hold up for the winning score,
but George saved the day temporarily for the Dolphins with a game-tying leaner
with four seconds left to send it to 2OT at 78-78.
Sims took over early in the second overtime period, slashing
to the basket for two basket-and-ones that gave Stetson a six-point lead it
would not relinquish. Sims soon fouled out and JU came as close as 86-83, but
the Hatters slammed the door with a 7-0 run down the stretch to seal the
victory.
The Hatters won their 11th consecutive home game
and improved to 7-0 at the Edmunds
Center this season; the
win was also the first overtime victory of the Lynn Bria Era, snapping a
four-game skid since January 28, 2008 at Gardner-Webb. The 93 points scored by
the Hatters was their most since a 97-71 home win over Georgia State
on January 6, 2001. The old win streak record of seven games was set Nov. 25-Dec. 30, 2000.
The 25 points for Sims were a career high and one more than
the 24 she scored against Jacksonville
in last March's A-Sun tournament championship game victory. McGowan, who picked
up her second triple-double of the season Wednesday at Mercer (29 points, 10
rebounds, 10 assists), came within a whisker of doing it again today with
24-11-9 plus four steals. Junior guard Shanasa Sanders (Jacksonville, Fla.)
scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds against her hometown
team; Burris also reached double figures with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Tracie Sneed led Jacksonville
with 21 points and six rebounds, although the Hatters held her to just eight
points after halftime. Bell added 20 points with Wilson (13 points, five
rebounds, five assists) and George (10 points, seven assists, five rebounds)
doing excellent work in the backcourt for the Dolphins as well. Jade Cargill
racked up a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double before fouling out late in
regulation.
Stetson, which is 5-0 in the A-Sun for the first time since
1995-96, will try to keep the good times rolling at 2:00 pm Monday in the Edmunds Center
against North Florida. Live Stats and Hatter
Vision will be available at GoHatters.com, the official online home of Stetson
Athletics.
FACEBOOK - Stetson Athletics (facebook.com/stetsonhatters);
TWITTER - @StetsonSID (twitter.com/stetsonsid)
