“This was a great game. New Mexico State is a fine team, but we knew their strengths were different than ours,” said head coach Joan Bonvicini. “Taelor [Ross] has played the best basketball of her career in this tournament. It was a good matchup but losing a game in overtime is painful and it comes down to each possession. Abby Scott’s three towards the end of overtime was killer but I also want to credit Crystal Allen with a huge three to send it into overtime. It was a tough loss but I’m very proud of our team.”
SU gained the first advantage as Taelor Ross (Vancouver, Wash.) drove in the opening points on a layup 10 seconds into the contest. The teams would trade the lead five times over the next five minutes before Jazmine Johnson (Lakewood, Calif.) tied the score at 10 on a jumper at 13:18.
The Redhawks and Aggies would trade the lead eight more times over the next five minutes before Crystal Allen (Fort Worth, Texas) hit back-to-back three’s to give Seattle U their biggest lead of the contest to that point, leading 25-20 with 7:49 until half.
Claire Metoyer (Desoto, Texas) put the Redhawks ahead by seven, 28-21, on a three-pointer at 7:12 and Seattle U would take their biggest lead of the half, 33-24, with 3:43 remaining in the opening period on a jumper.
Brianna Freeman and Sasha Weber combined for a trio of layups to cut the Redhawk lead, but SU remained ahead by five, 35-30, at the halftime buzzer after Ross layed in the ball at 1:06.
The Aggies would open the second half with a 18-4 run over the first five minutes with their largest lead at 16:33, 48-35, on a traditional three-point play by Weber. NMSU would lead by double digits four times over the next four minutes, leading 53-43 at 12:58, before the Redhawks went on a 5-0 run to cut it to five.
New Mexico State holding their final double digit lead, 61-51, with seven minutes remaining in regulation, Seattle U answered with a 9-1 run to trail by two, 62-60, sparked by a Ashlyn Lewey (Spokane, Wash.) jumper and a Masha Shtikel (Shoreline, Wash.) three-pointer and capped by a Ross jumper at 4:27.
Shtikel hit a jumper a minute later to cut the Redhawk deficit back to two before Freeman and Shanice Davis put New Mexico State back up by five, 67-62, with 1:23 left in regulation.
Ross hit a jumper with 58 seconds in the second half to draw the Redhawks within three and a missed Aggie free throw and Redhawk rebound with 15 seconds left set Allen up with the game-tying three-pointer with three seconds left.
The Redhawks would remain tied or hold the lead for over the first three minutes of the overtime period before Abby Scott hit a three with 1:25 remaining to gain back the NM State lead for good. SU pulled within one once more on a layup by Ross but Moriah Mack went 3-for-4 at the line over the final 16 seconds to give the Aggies their final two-possession lead.
Ross recorded her fifth career double-double, second of the tournament, with 21 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. Allen also finished with 21 points for the Redhawks. Five different Aggies scored in double figures led by Weber with 22 points and Freeman with a double-double (19 points, 16 rebounds).
The Redhawks outrebounded the Aggies, pulling down a new season-high 51 rebounds to NMSU’s 49.
Seattle U’s season ends with the loss as they say goodbye to seniors Makenna Clark (Lake Tapps, Wash.) and Renee Dillard-Brown (Seattle, Wash.). The Redhawks will look forward to the 2015-16 season.