In a game that seemed like it would never end, the Miami Lady Wardogs found just enough points to down the Grove Lady Ridgerunners 38-36 in a four overtime marathon Friday night.
Hannah Chenoweth led the Lady Wardogs (4-5) with 10 points and five rebounds, and had a steal and layup midway through the fourth overtime to give Miami a 35-33 lead. Taylor Stepp added two free throws a minute later to give Miami a four-point lead.
A free throw by Libby Morris and running jumper by Emilee Iverson brought Grove (2-5) to within one with 40 seconds left. Mary Crosby made one-of-two at the line for Miami with 26 seconds left and Karah Bassett’s three-point attempt at the buzzer clanged of the rim to finally end the marathon.
Both teams had their fair share of chances to win the defensive struggle. Miami led 4-2 after the first quarter and 11-8 at the half. Grove eventually tied the score at 15 midway through the third despite a horrible shooting night from the field and at the free throw line.
"Our shooting percentages were terrible across the board," Grove head coach Richard Bassett said. "We played a good game, our defense was good, we limited our turnovers. We ran our offense well and got good looks, we just didn't make shots."
The Lady Ridgerunners clawed back thanks to their dominance on the boards, outrebounding Miami 53-29 for the game. Paige Miller led Grove with 14 rebounds, while Morgan Hayes came off the bench to get 12 boards.
Hayes eventually made one-of-two free throws to tie the game at 22 with 14.5 seconds left in regulation. The Lady Ridgerunners took their first lead of the game in the first minute of the first overtime on Miller’s layup on a nice pass from Morris. Miller then added two free throws to make it 26-22 with just over a minute left.
But a three by Kelsee Welch cut the lead to one and, after a pair of Grove free throws, Crosby banked in another triple with five seconds left to tie the game at 28.
The second over time ended with a 30-30 tie, but the Lady Wardogs took a three-point lead in the third extra session and nursed a 33-31 lead in the final seconds. That’s when Morris hit what appeared to be a game-winning three from the corner on an inbounds play at the buzzer, but the officials ruled the shot a two, forcing a fourth overtime.
Grove finished 11-of-23 from the free throw line, including 2-of-6 in the fourth quarter and 6-of-11 in the overtimes.
"Games are won or lost at the free throw line a lot of the times," Bassett said. "And we shot 44 percent. That's how it goes sometimes."
Karah Bassett led the Lady Ridgerunners with 12 points, while Morris had 10 points to go with her 14 rebounds.
Stepp finished with nine for Miami, while Welch added eight before fouling out in the first overtime
