Cavs Score Gutsy OT Win Over Puget Sound

11/27/2011 5:59:16 PM

TACOMA, Wash.—Having played in four games decided by five points or less already, the Concordia women’s basketball team won its closest game yet, beating the University of Puget Sound 80-77 on the road in overtime on Sunday.

Concordia (3-4) had to show particular strength in overtime as the lead changed hands four times in the extra period.

The Cavs opened overtime with four straight points off a pair of jumpers from Grace Cappleman and Courtney May to take a quick 73-69 lead before 90 seconds were gone.

However, the seesawing started after that as Puget Sound (3-2) answered with five straight points of their own to jump ahead 74-73 with 1:25 left. 

Then, with the pressure back on the Cavs, Gabi Beyer knocked down a gutsy three-pointer on the next possession to put the Cavs back up by two.

True to form, though, the game flip-flopped once again as the Loggers’ Taylor Jones hit her own three-pointer following one of her team’s 23 offensive rebounds in the game. In addition, Jones’ three gave the Loggers another one-point lead at 77-76 with 46 seconds left.

Down once again, CU’s Megan Padilla answered the call with a jumper in the lane to vault the Cavs back over the Loggers at 78-77 with 30 seconds left. 

Padilla’s jumper also continued a streak of four straight possessions in which both teams had come away with points. 

Kelsey McKinnis’ shot on the Loggers’ next possession, however, bounced out and CU’s Eva Everett snatched the clutch rebound to give the Cavs a big advantage with 13 seconds left. Having lost possession, the Loggers were forced to foul, which they did, putting Beyer on the line for the Cavs.

Once at the line, Beyer proved steady under the pressure again, sinking both free throws to put the Cavs up by three at 80-77.

With one final chance to tie the game, the Loggers found Jones for another three-pointer with three seconds left, but this one rimmed out and CU’s Padilla secured the rebound to wrap up the overtime win for the Cavs.

Earlier in the game, Concordia had to come back late in the second half in order to even get to overtime. Leading 37-32 at halftime, the Cavs scored the first basket of the second half, but then got outscored 30-14 over the next twelve-and-a-half minutes. That run put the Loggers up 62-53 with 7:15 remaining and in full control of the game. 

Concordia hit its next four field goals, though, and went on a 16-4 run of their own to go up 69-66 with 49 seconds remaining.

After that, the Loggers got a free throw and a jumper from McKinnis in the final minute that wiped away the Cavs’ three-point lead and forced overtime. 

Overall, Concordia shot much better than the Loggers, making 51.7 percent of their shots compared to 35.1 percent for the Loggers. However, Puget Sound made up for the difference by outrebounding the Cavs 46-38 overall and 23-8 on offensive rebounds.

Individually, Padilla led Concordia with a game-high 21 points while May added 18 points herself. In addition, Beyer scored 12 and Cappleman and Brittney Yates poured in 10 each as well. Cappleman also led the Cavs with seven rebounds, while May led with five assists.

For the Loggers, McKinnis led her team with 16, while Jocelyn Riordan and Amanda Forshay also scored in double-figures with 14 and 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Puget Sound’s Sarah Stewart grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end.

Next up, Concordia opens the conference portion of its schedule against Eastern Oregon and The College of Idaho next weekend. The Cavs open the weekend against Eastern Oregon on Friday, Dec. 2 before concluding it against The College of Idaho on Saturday, Dec. 3. Both games will begin at 5:30 p.m.