Box Score

Pittsburg, Kan. – The Southwest Baptist University women's basketball team fell in another tough contest on Saturday afternoon in an 87-84 overtime loss at Pittsburg State. After the loss, SBU drops to 7-7 (2-6 MIAA) on the season.

The Bearcats and Gorillas played a tight contest to open up the start of the first quarter, and a Dilonna Johnson three with 7:13 left in the first gave the Bearcats their first lead of the contest at 7-4. After PSU came back to tie the game at 7-7, a Morgan Lucy layup and an Ashlee Pitts three gave SBU a 12-7 lead. SBU continued to push their lead, and after Megan Rosenbohm connected on a free throw, SBU held an 18-12 advantage with 2:31 left in the quarter. After PSU cut the SBU lead back to two (18-16) with 39 seconds left in the first quarter, the Bearcats used a three from Taylor Jackson and a jumper from Alex Botkin to take a 23-16 lead heading into the second quarter.

In the second quarter of action PSU came right out to tie the contest at 25-25 with 7:39 left in the half. SBU would continue to hold a small advantage for a majority of the quarter, but PSU would not allow the Bearcats to grow their lead past three. Natalie O'Keefe connected on a jumper from Sarah Magana with 4:13 left in the half to give SBU a 34-31 lead, but PSU continued to hang around as the Gorillas eventually took a 37-36 lead with 2:21 to go in the quarter. The Bearcats quickly responded with four points from Johnson, taking a 40-37 advantage, and a 42-39 lead with 3 seconds left in the half. However, PSU would hit a half-court shot as time expired as SBU and PSU went into the break tied 42-42.

SBU would use a strong third quarter to take a 61-53 lead into the fourth and final quarter of action. In the fourth quarter PSU came back, taking a 76-74 lead with just under 3 seconds remaining in the contest. Dilonna Johnson took the in-bound pass, found her way inside the 3-point arc, and put up a shot from the corner which she hit to force a 76-76 tie with 0.4 seconds remaining. PSU wasn't able to get a shot off, forcing overtime.

In the overtime period, PSU gained a 85-81 advantage late in the period. Morgan Lucy connected on a long three, cutting the deficit to one at 85-84 with under four seconds remaining. PSU connected on both free throws after the foul, leaving under 2 seconds for the Bearcats to work with. SBU in-bounded the ball, but an SBU three goes long as they fall in a heartbreaker, 87-84.

Dilonna Johnson led the way for the SBU Bearcats, scoring a game high 27 points to go along with 4 assists, while Megan Rosenbohm added 14 and Morgan Lucy added 10 points in the loss. Sarah Magana pulled down a team high 9 rebounds and Ashlee Pitts and Natalie O'Keefe each added 6 points. As a team, SBU shot 49.2% from the field, 33.3% from beyond the arc, and 75.0% from the free throw line.

The Bearcats will return home on Thursday, January 14 when they host Lincoln. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. from the Meyer Sports Center in Bolivar.