NEW LONDON, Conn. — It took a five-minute overtime period Saturday evening for the Southern Vermont College women's basketball team to defeat Mitchell College on the road, winning 85-81 in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action.
The Mountaineers stay perfect in conference play, improving their mark to 4-0 against the league (6-5 overall) while Mitchell falls to 1-9 overall and 1-3 in the NECC with the loss.
SVC junior captain Amber Flagg (Windsor, Connecticut) was just one point shy of her career-high, scoring a game-best 34 to with 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season; she added four assists and three steals while shooting 16-17 from the free throw line. Classmate Turquoia Johnson (Montgomery Village, Maryland) followed with 13 points to go with her game-best 15 boards for her third double-double of the year; she added three steals to her line. Fellow junior Javasha White (Schenectady, New York) chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds in the win.
Five Mariners hit double digits in points with junior Amanda Garcia (New Britain, Connecticut) leading the way with 21 to go with 12 rebounds for the double-double. Sophomore Samantha Ryan (Quaker Hill, Connecticut) also recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and junior Diamond Thomas (Hartford, Connecticut) added 15 points and six rebounds in the effort. Junior Savannah Boyle (Attleboro, Massachusetts) and sophomore Jessica Shepherd (West Hartford, Connecticut) chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Both teams hit four baskets from beyond the perimeter while SVC had a 55-52 advantage on the glass. Southern Vermont owned a big 26-9 edge on second-chance points and committed three less turnovers (22-19) on the day. The Mountaineers shot 32.9 percent from the floor (26-79) while the Mariners connected on 25-of-68 shots from the field (36.8 percent).
Southern Vermont took to an early lead, going up 9-4 on a jumper by junior forward Sarah McDonald (Cohoes, New York). Mitchell closed to within one a couple of times, but SVC would answer to up its advantage after each MC basket. A Shepherd three tied the game at 16-16 with 12:23 to go in the opening period, but the Mountaineers soon-after scored six unanswered points to go ahead 26-20. As the two sides traded baskets, Southern Vermont pushed its lead to 10, the eventual differential going into halftime.
Mitchell started the second half with a strong 15-2 run to go up 55-52 after the first seven minutes of the stanza. The Mountaineers then began to get their offense back into rhythm to regain the lead shortly thereafter, and the upper hand then alternated as both sides hit their share of shots with eight lead changes coming between the 12:30 and 0:38 marks.
A pair of converted free throws by Garcia put Mitchell ahead 71-68 with 1:17 left on the clock, but White came down with a huge offensive rebound on the other end; that gave way for her to make the put-back layup, cutting the score to 71-70. Following an SVC timeout, Thomas was fouled and went to the line with a chance to make it a three-point game; after hitting her first, the MC junior missed the back-end with the score set at 72-70 in favor of the hosts.
On the ensuing Southern Vermont possession, Flagg was fouled and went to the line with a chance to tie the game. She was able to knock down both free throws to make it 72-72 with 38 seconds left in regulation. Thomas then drew a foul on the other end of the floor, and she hit both from the charity stripe to put her team ahead by a pair.
With time running out and SVC looking for the tying basket, the Mountaineers got the ball to junior Shaniquewa Barnes (Landover, Maryland) who, in her first game in a Southern Vermont uniform, got a layup to go with eight seconds left while drawing the foul; she could not convert the three-point play, but the ball went off a Mariner and out of bounds for SVC to retain possession. The Mountaineers could not get their buzzer-beating attempt to go as the game went to the extra session.
Southern Vermont scored the first four points of overtime with Flagg making a layup after Johnson hit a pair from the line. A Thomas layup cut it to a 78-77 SVC lead with 3:19 left, but Johnson knocked down two jumpers that sandwiched a Shepherd lay-in to make it an 82-79 Mountaineer advantage with 29 seconds left to play.
A Mitchell three on the other end missed the mark, only to be rebounded by Ryan who got the put-back to go to once again make it a one-point game (82-81). After being fouled while in the double bonus, White hit one-of-two from the line with 10 ticks left on the board. Shepherd missed her attempt to tie the game with time waning, and Johnson then hit both shots at the line after being fouled to secure the 85-81 victory.
Southern Vermont is back in action on Tuesday with a 5 p.m. road game at Newbury College. Mitchell also plays next on Tuesday, visiting Daniel Webster College for a 5:30 p.m. NECC tip.