After coming back from a 20 point first half deficit, the Seattle University women's basketball team could not hang on to their late point advantage, as they fell 82-76 in overtime at Cal State Fullerton Wednesday evening.
It was another tale of two halves for the Redhawks, who experienced a forgettable first period of play. They were held to just 26.9 percent (7-for-26) from the field, while the Titans took off on a 20 point advantage to head into halftime with a 38-18 lead after shooting 40 percent (14-for-35).
Time in the locker room paid dividends for SeattleU, as they went into the second half composed and possessing a rhythm they lacked in the first half. Immediately Tatiana Heck (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) broke onto the board with a pair of free throws to begin the Redhawks steady breakdown of the Titans lead. After five points from Maggie McCarthy (Burlingame, Calif.) and a pair of layups from Heck, SU saw themselves down 44-30.
Less than a minute later Ashley Brown (Kirkland, Wash.) drained in a three, McCarthy followed by converting her free throws and Heck added a jumper to cut the once substantial Cal State Fullerton lead to nine.
Sophomore Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.) took it down to seven at 13:22 in the second half. With their lead threatened, CSUF called a critical timeout to stop the Redhawk momentum. The Titans came back from their timeout with a new-found rhythm and went on a 6-0 run to bring their lead back into double-digits.
A fighting SU squad countered and fought back. Senior Cassidy Murillo (Yakima, Wash.) played with such poise in the final 10 minutes of regulation and showed her veteran leadership. She commanded the ball and scored back-to-back three's to tie the game at 60-all with 1:54 remaining.
With SeattleU on the brink of taking the lead, Fullerton's Jasmine Scott attempted to drive the ball to the basket. She began to fumble it around and the Redhawks pounced on it, in an attempt to force the turnover and gain possession. In a last ditch effort Scott grabbed the ball and called timeout, but Cal State Fullerton was out of timeouts and they were charged with a technical foul. Brown took the free throw shots and gave the Redhawks their first score advantage of the second half with two baskets from the charity stripe.
As the clock ticked down, Heck was charged with a charging foul for her fifth of the game. The Titans' Megan Richardson was sent to the line and it at 62 with 49 seconds left in the game. On a last ditch effort, SeattleU had the final possession in regulation, but Julee Christainson's (Missoula, Mont.) last ditch layup effort rolled just outside the rim to send the game into overtime.
Closing out the second half, SU shot 44.8 percent (13-for-29) to Fullerton's 25 percent (7-for-28) from the field.
In the Redhawks second overtime game of the year, Fullerton's Lyndsey Grove led them on an immediate four point lead to open up the extra period. Silencing CSUF's momentum was Brown who hit in her sixth three-pointer on the day to cut it down to a one point game.
Murillo made it a 67-66 game with layup, followed by two baskets from the stripe to give SU a three point advantage. SeattleU was unable to hold onto their slight advantage, as the Titans turned around two seconds later and hit in a layup.
At 1:39 in overtime, Fullerton's Scott tied the game at 69 which sent the home team on a 13-5 run to close out the game.
Four Redhawks scored in double-figures on the day, led by Brown. She scored 22 points for the second straight game and also added seven boards. She went 7-for-15 from the field, six of which were three-pointers. Classmate Murillo had her best performance of the year with a season-high 19 points in 41 minutes of work. The SU captain also dished out a team-leading four assists.
Junior Heck scored 14 points and was a dominate force at the post for the Redhawks. She battled all night and had six rebounds in 29 minutes of action, and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Rounding out SeattleU's top scorers was McCarthy. She tallied 11 points and added three assists and two defensive rebounds in 39 minutes on the floor.
On the game, SU shot 40.3 percent (25-for-62) from the field to Fullerton's 35.7 percent (25-for-70). The Redhawks (4-19) will look to build upon their solid performance in Orange County, as they travel to Cheney, Wash. on Wednesday, Feb. 3 to take on Eastern Washington.