Oberlin, Ohio- After celebrating their two seniors, Grace Burns and Jasmine Roberts, the Oberlin College women's basketball team battled with DePauw in a huge NCAC matchup on Saturday afternoon. After fighting from behind for most of the game and tying it on a buzzer-beater, the Yeowomen ultimately fell in the overtime period, 88-78. Oberlin drops to 7-5 in the conference and 14-9 overall.
 
The Crimson and Gold finished with a trio of players with at least 20 points, led by Alyson Jefferson with a career-high 22 points. Sharp-shooter Gina Lombard had another great game from behind the arch, hitting six threes for 20 points and five assists while Camille Zinaich tallied her first double-double of the season at 21 points and ten rebounds.
 
The conference matchup got off to an even start, as both teams swapped points in the early quarter. Although battling from behind, the Yeowomen kept up with the Tigers, shooting 8-10 from the field behind six points from both Lombard and Jefferson.
 
Down to start the second quarter, Oberlin opened the period with an 11-5 run to pull ahead of the visitors on a Jefferson jumper. The Tigers managed to retake the lead just minutes later before Lombard hit a three to keep the game close. DePauw hit the final pair of shots to hold a 38-32 lead heading into halftime.
 
The Tigers notched the first points of the second half before locking in on defense to hold Oberlin scoreless through the early minutes. The Yeowomen fell behind by double-digits as they struggled to stay pace with the Tigers. Zinaich highlighted the quarter after hitting a jumper while being fouled. The sophomore then nailed the free throw as the Crimson and Gold tried to find their momentum.
 
Oberlin found themselves on the wrong end of a 13-point deficit, but a lights-out defense shut DePauw down for the first three minutes while Zinaich tallied a handful of points to cut the lead. Midway through the quarter, Angela Kumler tallied her fourth steal of the day to break ahead for a layup and bring the game within five. Still down in the final minutes, Anora Lee took a note from her teammate's book and intercepted a pass before handing it off to Kumler for a layup.
 
The steals continued as Lee made another interception in the ensuing possession as the Yeowomen found themselves down 68-63. In the final minute, the Yeowomen put up seven points with a Lombard three-pointer at the :13 mark to bring the score to 72-70. The Yeowomen never gave up as they continued to battle to the final seconds. At the buzzer, Jefferson drove straight to the bucket and drained a layup to send the game into overtime, tied 74-74. The Yeowomen notched an almost perfect final minute of the game, putting up 11 points in 44 seconds and sending the contest into overtime.
 
As the OT period began, neither team scored on their initial possession while the defense stunted both attacking strategies. The Tigers found momentum midway through as they pulled ahead 83-76 with a 9-2 run. Oberlin struggled to respond as the Tigers pulled ahead for the 88-78 final.
 
The Crimson and Gold cap off their season at home next Wednesday, February 15 when they host bitter rival, Kenyon. The Yeowomen get the first game in a double-header series with the men's team and will play at 1pm. A live stream will be available here and live stats available here.
 
Fans can watch all the home matches live online. Home contests can be accessed on a TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.