LIBERTY, Mo.—Junior guard
Emma DeHart hit a bucket with less than a second to play in the game to give University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball a 79-78 Great Lakes Valley Conference road win over host William Jewell College Saturday afternoon.
After leading by as much as 24 in the third period, the Eagles found themselves trailing 78-77 with 3.9 seconds left in the contest after Ainsley Tolson hit a pair of free throws to give the Cardinals their first lead since midway through the opening period.
Following a USI timeout, which gave the Eagles the ball at half court, USI senior guard
Kiara Moses inbounded the ball to DeHart at the top of the key.
DeHart, who finished with a career-high 21 points, drove through the left side of the lane and put up the left-handed layup that gave USI the lead with just under a second to play.
William Jewell (5-10, 1-6 GLVC) was unable to get a good look in the final second as USI held on for a win that looked like a given with just over 15 minutes to play in the contest.
USI (9-4, 5-2 GLVC) used a 13-2 run to begin the third period and extend a 42-29 halftime lead to 55-31 four-and-a-half minutes into the second half. Freshman forward
Hannah Haithcock, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, was instrumental in the third-quarter surge as she had six of USI’s first eight points.
The Cardinals, however, stonewalled the Eagles from that point, going on a 23-6 run that lasted 10 minutes and saw USI go scoreless for the first four-and-a-half minutes of the fourth quarter.
Baskets by Haithcock and freshman forward
Tara Robbe, who had eight points and eight rebounds, briefly quelled the William Jewell surge; but the Cardinals drained 4-of-4 three-point attempts in a 22-10 run that evened the score at 76-76 with 15.6 seconds to play in the contest.
Instead of allowing the Eagles to play for the final shot, William Jewell elected to foul senior guard
Ashley Johnson, who was a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe at that juncture. Johnson, who finished with 14 points and three assists, missed the first shot before connecting on the second to put the Eagles up, 77-76; but giving the Cardinals the chance to win the game in the final possession.
Johnson was whistled for a questionable foul, her fifth of the game, with 3.9 seconds to play; and Tolson, who had a team-high 17 points and five assists, connected on both free throws to give William Jewell the one-point lead.
USI returns to action Monday at 5:30 p.m. when it hosts McKendree University in the first half of a men’s and women’s GLVC doubleheader at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Bearcats (9-6, 2-5 GLVC) have won two straight games following their 74-48 road win over Rockhurst.
Note: USI’s freshmen were instrumental in the win as the group combined for 28 points, 20 rebounds and five assists…freshman guard
Addy Blackwell finished with five points and two assists, while Haithcock and Robbe combined for 17 points in the second half.
