BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Mary Baldwin University women's basketball team scored as time expired in the fourth quarter to tie Bridgewater College before going on to an 81-77 win in overtime on Tuesday night.
The Fighting Squirrels improve to 4-2 on the season as they prepare to open their conference schedule this weekend. Meanwhile, the Eagles sit at 0-6 overall.
Jalen Gathers finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field and also pulled down eight rebounds to go with three steals in the victory. Gathers was one of three starters to finish in double figures.
Leah Calhoun garnered her first double-double of the season finishing with 15 points and a career-best 17 rebounds. She also posted an assist and two steals to go along with a block.
Brooke Anders recorded 12 points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal, while Cauy Duboise finished with 10 points and four rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.
With a minute left in the fourth quarter, the Eagles led the Fighting Squirrels 67-64, but a layup from Gathers with 59 seconds left on the clock cut the deficit to just one point. A foul by BC put Bryonna Woofter on the line with 31 seconds left in regulation who tied the contest at 67-67. On the ensuing possession, Madison Baum scored with just two seconds showing on the clock. Mary Baldwin called a timeout trailing 69-67 with one second left to play.
After the timeout, Gathers played an inbound pass underneath to Calhoun who caught and put up a layup that fell in as time expired to send the contest into overtime.
In the five minute extra period, the Eagles split a pair of free throws to take a one-point lead. Woofter was fouled and made her first free throw before missing the second one as Duboise grabbed the rebound. On the play, she was fouled and made both of her shots to put the Fighting Squirrels up by two (72-70). Bridgewater responded with a basket to tie the game at 72-72.
Another foul from the Eagles sent Calhoun to the line who made both of her shots from the stripe to put MBU back up by a pair. BC missed a shot on their next possession which allowed Duboise to score again to increase the lead to four point with 2:08 left in the contest. Back-to-back baskets by the Eagles tied the game once again 76-76 with just over one minute showing on the clock.
A Mary Baldwin foul put the Eagles on the line with 50 seconds remaining as only one fell true before a foul on the inbound allowed MBU to tie it once again at 77-77.
An offensive foul by the Eagles gave the Fighting Squirrels possession with 41 seconds remaining. Another foul put Gathers on the line as she made both of her shots and finished the night 3-of-4 from the stripe and gave MBU a 79-77 advantage.
After the shots, Bridgewater called a timeout and attempted to tie the contest with layup with under three seconds showing on the clock, but a block by Hannah Varner and defensive rebound sealed the contest before Duboise was fouled and nailed two more free throws to give MBU an 81-77 victory.
Bridgewater held a 21-11 lead after the first quarter as Gathers had all but one point of the Fighting Squirrels scoring in the period. The two sides were nearly even in the second quarter but Bridgewater took a 37-26 lead into the break.
The third quarter was nearly all Mary Baldwin as it outscored the home side 16-4 and took its first lead since the first quarter at 42-41 entering the final period of regulation.
In addition, Woofter finished with seven points, six rebounds and four assists in 39 minutes, while Demet Saygili finished with seven points and five rebounds to go with a pair of assists.
As a team, Mary Baldwin shot 36.8 percent (25-68) from the floor and made 34.8 percent (8-23) of its attempts from long range. In comparison, Bridgewater made 32.6 percent (28-86) of its shots from the field. The Fighting Squirrels won the rebounding battle as they outrebounded the home team 61-49.
For the Eagles, Baum led with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting in 30 minutes. She also pulled down five rebounds, posted four assists and six steals in the loss. McKenzie Jenkins and Lindsay Estes each finished with 16 points, while Mary Ruth Shifflett led the Eagles with 12 boards.
The Fighting Squirrels return to action on Sunday, Dec. 1, as they open USA South play against William Peace in the PAC beginning at 4 pm.
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