Lady Wildcats Win in Overtime in ASC Tournament
Tyler, TX – A miracle finish at the end of regulation and overtime propelled the Louisiana College women’s basketball team to a thrilling 91-90 overtime win over Mary Hardin-Baylor in the 1st Round of the 2015 American Southwest Conference Tournament on Thursday afternoon in Tyler, Texas.
It was extra special for LC senior guard Neka Jones, whose last second three-pointer at the end of regulation to push the game into overtime was her 218th career three-pointer, which set a new ASC record for career three-pointers made.
Jones, who helped her team jump out to a dominant 52-41 lead at the 12:56 mark of the second half, was out of answers for a strong Mary Hardin-Baylor comeback that saw them shockingly take a 75-67 lead just ten minutes later with 2:43 showing on the clock in regulation.
With UMHB holding onto a one-point lead with 11 seconds left, Macy Moore went to the foul line and calmly knocked down two free throws to put the Cru up by three points at 80-77.
But it was Jones, who LC has looked to all year to be their primary scorer, who drained a clutch three-pointer with just six seconds remaining to tie the game up 80 and force overtime after a crazy, back-and-forth second half.
In overtime, it was again Macy Moore who hit a free throw with less than a minute remaining to put UMHB up 90-86, but a three-point play by senior Karylon Thornton on LC’s next possession gave them yet another opportunity to complete a comeback.
And yet again, the Lady Cats would respond, as senior center Danisha Allison grabbed an offensive rebound with just one second left off a missed layup by Jones and put it back to give LC the miraculous 91-90 win over the Cru.
The Lady Cats (17-7 overall) will face the winner of Thursday’s matchup between #2 seed UT-Dallas and #7 seed Concordia on Friday at 5:00 p.m. in Tyler for an opportunity to play in Saturday’s ASC Championship game and an automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
