Seattle University women's basketball welcomed Western Washington University to the Connolly Center in their final exhibition game and came away with the win in double overtime, 100-93.
"The thing I really liked was our toughness and our mental stamina to finish the game," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "We do a lot of conditioning and it showed, but I thought the mental toughness was key. We had different people step it up and I'm proud of the team, but now it's for real. We know the things we need to work on, and we're ready to protect our house."
The Vikings got on the board first, with a three-pointer by Corinn Waltrip but the Redhawks took the early lead, 4-3, with a layup by Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.) with 19:18 remaining and a jumper by Sylvia Shephard (Alta Loma, Calif.) with 17:37 remaining in the first half.
As the two teams traded baskets, Seattle U regained the lead, 10-9, at the 13:45 mark with two good free throws by Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.). Makenna Clark (Auburn, Wash.) added to the lead, 13-9, on a made three-pointer at the 13:12 mark.
The Vikings took back the lead, 16-15, at 10:34, with another three-pointer by Waltrip, but the Redhawks answered back, regaining a three-point lead, 19-16.
At 8:13, Maggie McCarthy (Burlingame, Calif.) hit a three-pointer to increase the Redhawks' lead, matching their largest lead of the half, 22-18.
However, the Vikings answered back with five straight points to take the 23-22 lead with a little under seven minutes left in the first half. At 4:56, they took their largest lead of the half, 31-26, on a three-pointer by Katie Colard.
Over the next minute and a half, Seattle U went on a 6-0 run to retake the lead, 32-31, on layups by Daidra Brown (Seattle, Wash.) and Brenda Adhiambo (Mombasa, Kenya) and a set of free-throws by Sowell.
For the remainder of the half, SU went on a 5-4 run, and led, 37-35, at the half. Sowell led the Redhawks in the first half, recording a double double (14 points, 10 rebounds) before halftime.
Seattle U increased the momentum coming out of halftime, going on a 7-4 run, including five straight points by Shephard, to take the 44-39 lead with 18:28 remaining in the contest.
Following a layup by Sowell at 15:18, the Redhawks held onto a five-point lead, 50-45, for nearly two minutes until Waltrip narrowed the lead with a three-pointer at 13:34.
At 11:15, following a foul by Waltrip, Shephard added a pair of free-throws as the Redhawks took their first double-digit lead, 61-50.
WWU fought back, coming with one, 63-62, on a fastbreak layup by Britt Harris at the 9:11 mark. The run included two three-pointers by Colard.
The Vikings came within one two more times in the following three minutes and tied the game, 78-78, on a jumper by Waltrip at 2:54.
The Redhawks held on to a one-point lead, 79-78, but Western Washington retook the lead for the first time in the second half, 81-79, on a three-pointer by Colard with 17 seconds remaining. At the buzzer, Ward hit a jumper to tie the score, 81-81, and send the game into overtime.
Shephard took the early lead for Seattle U in overtime, with a layup at the 4:48 mark, but the Vikings answered back with four straight points to lead 85-83 with a little over four minutes remaining.
The Vikings led by as many as five, 91-86, but the Redhawks powered back and Ward again took the buzzer shot to tie the game, 92-92, as the game went into double overtime.
Much like the first overtime, Shephard took the first lead, 94-92, for Seattle U with a layup with 3:45 remaining. Seattle U continued to dominate offensively, as they outshot the Vikings, 8-1, throughout the second overtime and came away with the win, 100-93.
Shelby Dougherty (Fullerton, Calif.) saw her first collegiate action for the Redhawks and Kristin Stoffel (Mill Creek, Wash.) made her second career appearance.
WWU narrowly outshot SU from the field, 45.3 percent (34-for-75) versus 43.6 percent (34-for-78), as well as from behind the three-point line (34.5 percent/10-for-29 vs. 25.0 percent/4-for-16). The Vikings also led in free-throws, 78.9 percent (15-for-19) to 70.0 percent (28-for-40).
Shephard led the Redhawks with 28 points, followed by Sowell and Ward, adding 27 apiece. Sowell led the team with 19 rebounds, recording the double-double. Colard led the Vikings with 22 points and three other Vikings scored in double figures.
Seattle U begins the 2012-13 regular season Friday, Nov. 9 as they host Pacific at the Connolly Center at 7 p.m. As a special incentive for students, they will be entered into a raffle when entering the Connolly Center for a great prize. Bonvicini will draw the winning raffle ticket and announce over the microphone, as she addresses the crowd following the game. Students must be in attendance to win.