RALEIGH, N.C. - The women's basketball team earned its second straight win in dramatic fashion with an 86-85 overtime triumph on the road against nonconference foe Meredith College Saturday afternoon.
The Angels (3-3) took the previous meeting between these two opponents when they met in the season opening EMU Classic in Harrisonburg, Va., but Shenandoah (2-6) has since matured and learned from earlier mistakes as the Hornets repeatedly responded to all adversity that came their way.
Sophomore Dee Fisher (Arlington, Va./Yorktown) was on fire early as SU seemed destined to cruise early on. The guard led all scorers with a career high 33 points on 11-15 shooting from the field (including a 5-6 performance from beyond the 3-point arc). Meredith kept to its game plan and chipped away at an early 10-point Hornets' lead.
The Angels' relentless effort paid off with a flurry of scoring at the end of the opening period to take a 39-31 halftime advantage. Meredith was rallying behind a tireless performance from senior Tina Harkness who led the hosts with 17 points on the afternoon.
The young Hornets displayed a veteran level of poise as they grinded away at the MC lead to start the second half. Shenandoah slowly dismantled the Meredith advantage, brick-by-brick, and was ultimately rewarded with a generous gift as Angels' imposing front court player Amira Issa fouled out on a controversial judgment.
With center Katie Woods (Winchester, Va./Sherando) having fouled out for SU late in the contest and starting point guard Jenny Gray (Sumerduck, Va./Liberty) on the bench after aggravating a knee injury, the Hornets rallied around the strength of their youth to force the extra period. As the final moments were ticking off the clock, freshman Alicia Sanders (Wardensville, W.Va./East Hardy)- who had hit just once from behind the arc all season - nailed the game tying 3-pointer with six seconds to play.
Shenandoah took over in the overtime period and never looked back as sophomore Joia Davis and Sanders controlled both the pace and scoreboard to give SU its second victory of the week.
A complete boxscore may be found at: http://www.su.edu/athletics/wb/200304/011004.htm
The Hornets return to action tomorrow when they travel to the other side of Raleigh to take on USA South opponent Peace College in their first conference game of the season.
