ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Sophomore Taya Andrews (Fort Wayne, Ind.) scored 29 points—including the go-ahead bucket with a minute to play in triple overtime—to lift Roberts Wesleyan College to a 97-91 victory over Daemen College here today in East Coast Conference women's basketball action. RWC, which is ranked 10th in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll, improved to 10-5 overall and 4-1 in the ECC. Daemen dropped to 4-10 overall and 1-3 in the league.
Close games between these two long-time rivals have been the norm in recent years, as six of the last seven meetings have been decided by eight points or less—and two of those games were decided by just a single point. It marked the first time since January 10, 2012 that a game between the two rivals has been decided in overtime—and the first time in the 27-year history between the schools that a game has gone into triple overtime. It was also Daemen's first overtime game since February 11, 2016.
Five players reached double figures in scoring for Daemen. Senior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) scored over 20 points for the third-straight game and finished with 23 points, five rebounds and a career-high seven assists. She became just the sixth player in program history to reach 1,500 career points during the game, and has now totaled 1,513 points in 95 career games.
Redshirt freshman Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) equaled her career-high for points (19) and also grabbed 10 rebounds en route to her first career double-double. Sophomore Carina Pringle (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) equaled her career-high for points (16) for the second-straight game and also dished out four assists. Freshman Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) scored 13 points and collected a career-high 11 rebounds en route to her first career double-double, while sophomore Sarah Young (Depew, N.Y./St. Bonaventure) added 13 points and nine boards.
Senior Necedah James (Syracuse, N.Y.) helped the RWC cause with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists, while sophomore Emily Miller (Buffalo, N.Y.) registered her league-leading eighth double-double of the year and finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Incredibly, neither team led by double-digits during the game and RWC never led until the third overtime. The host Redhawks also got two clutch baskets late in the game, as Miller scored with four seconds left in regulation to force overtime and Andrews hit a buzzer-beating layup to tie the game at the end of the second overtime.
The teams headed into the third overtime tied at 84-84, and Andrews scored the first points of third OT to give RWC its first lead of the game. Filbert later gave Daemen what would its final lead of the game at 90-88 with just over three minutes left in the frame. Andrews then hit two free throws, and after Daemen came up empty on its next possession a layup by Andrews gave RWC a 92-90 lead with 1:04 to play. Daemen was off the mark on its next possession and Miller canned two free throws with 15 seconds left to give the Redhawks a 94-90 lead. The Wildcats turned the ball over on the next possession, and never came closer than four points the rest of the way.
The game was tied 5-5 two minutes in, when a three-pointer by Saba sparked the Wildcats on a 10-4 run. Another triple by Saba with 6:26 left in the first quarter capped the run and gave Daemen a 15-9 lead. Daemen later took a nine-point lead, 23-14, following a jumper by Saba, but RWC quickly cut the lead to four points following a jumper by junior Savannah Hunter (Puyallup, Wash.) and a three-pointer by senior Lucy Covley (Fairport, N.Y.). The Wildcats closed out the quarter with five unanswered points and took a 28-19 lead into the the second frame. Saba finished the first quarter a perfect 5-for-5 from the field with 12 points.
Daemen held a 31-25 lead four minutes into the second quarter when Saba picked up her second personal foul. With Saba on the bench, the Redhawks outscored the Wildcats 10-4 over the final six minutes of the quarter and the teams headed into halftime tied at 35-35.
The third quarter was back-and-fourth with Daemen maintaining a lead of between one and six points. The game was tied at 55-55 three minutes into the fourth quarter, when Daemen put together an 11-2 run. A conventional three-point play by junior Erin Egan (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) with 4:30 left in regulation capped the run and gave the Wildcats a 66-57 lead. The lead was still six points, 70-64, with a minute and a half to play, but Andrews scored back-to-back hoops—the second following a Daemen turnover—to cut the lead to two points. Neither team scored again until Miller's layup with four seconds to play. Daemen had a chance to win it in regulation, but Saba's runner in the lane was off the mark.
Daemen shot 52-percent (15-for-29) from the field in the first half and finished 36-of-84 (43%) overall. The Wildcats made just 7-of-27 from three-point land and just 12-of-24 from the charity stripe. RWC shot 43-percent (35-81) from the field overall and made just 5-of-22 (23%) from downtown. The Redhawks went 22-for-31 from the charity stripe. RWC finished with a 51-47 edge in total rebounds.
The Wildcats return to action Wednesday (Jan. 10) when they host the University of the District of Columbia in an ECC game.
Follow Daemen College athletics on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.
