Westerville, Ohio — The Oberlin College women's basketball team's double-digit comeback bid fell short in overtime against the Rochester University Yellow Jackets, 63-61, on Saturday at the Otterbein University Smokey Ballenger Classic.
Offensively,
Olivia Canning led the team with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, finishing just two rebounds shy of a double-double. Guards Lep Ross and
Cheyenne Arthur scored 11 points each for the Yeowomen, while
Ally Driscoll chipped in a season-high 10.
Tyler Collins led the team with 10 boards and
Maggie Gross snagged eight.
After some back and fourth play, Rochester would pull away with a 7-0 run capped by a Lauren Foley 3-pointer to make it 13-7 with 2:38 left in the first frame. The Hornets extended their lead to nine in the final minute of the quarter but a late three by Collins made it 20-14 after one period.
In the second quarter the Yeowomen hunkered down on defense and held Rochester to just nine points in the period to help shrink the gap. Arthur led the offensive attack with eight of her 11 points coming in the second frame. The Atlanta, Georgia, native capped the first-half scoring with a layup before the horn to cut the Rochester lead to 29-24 at halftime.
After the intermission, the Yellow Jackets scored the first six points of the half to take its largest lead of the day, 35-24, at the 8:15 mark. An Arthur triple-hit with 5:17 left in the third stanza would cut the Yellow Jackets lead to five, but Rochester was able to sustain a 45-36 advantage heading into the fourth.
The Yeowomen outscored the Yellow Jackets 9-2 in the beginning of the fourth quarter as a Ross three capped the run with 5:27 on the clock. After some back-and-fourth play, Oberlin gained its first lead since the first quarter when Canning finished at the rim, 51-49, with 47 seconds left. After a Driscoll free throw, Rochester's Lena Ethington jumper with 29 ticks left would tie the game at 51 and send the game to overtime.
The overtime period was nip and tuck the whole way and would be tied again at 57 when Driscoll made a shot from the charity stripe with 2:16 remaining. The Yellow Jackets scored the next two baskets to take a four-point advantage, but a shooting foul beyond the arc by Rochester gave Driscoll a chance to cut their lead to 62-61 with 10 seconds left. After Driscoll cashed in all three charity tosses, Rochester's Lauren Foley made one of two from the stripe giving the Yeowomen one last chance but unfortunately the Oberlin attempt fell short.
On the stat sheet, both teams looked a little rusty off the holiday break as Rochester shot 39.1 percent (25-of-64) and Oberlin finished at 37.0 percent (20-of-54), and both teams shot shot under 70 percent from the foul line. The Yeowomen won the battle of the boards, 40-39, but the Yellow Jackets took advantage of the 17 Oberlin turnovers, while committing just 12.
On Sunday the Yeowomen will look to get back on track as they finish up play at the Smokey Ballenger Classic facing the the host Cardinals at 3 p.m.
