ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's basketball team suffered a 68-63 loss in overtime to Lawrence Tech in the first round of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) tournament on Wednesday night. First Team All-WHAC selection Alyssa Larson led the team with 24 points and 14 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the year.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Lawrence Tech 68, Siena Heights 63 (F/OT)
Location: Adrian, Michigan (SHU Fieldhouse)
Records: Lawrence Tech (22-9, 13-7 WHAC), Siena Heights (23-8, 15-5)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lawrence Tech jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the opening two minutes of the contest. Siena rallied back to cut the deficit to just one point (10-9) with 5:07 remaining in the first half. The Blue Devils maintained a slim lead throughout eventually taking a 15-13 lead into the second quarter.
Nicole Buckingham drilled a three-pointer to start the second quarter and increase the LTU lead to five. The Saints would score four straight to cut the lead to just one point before eventually earning their first lead of the game (21-20) with 4:27 left in the first half. a 5-0 run by the Blue Devils would swing the advantage back to LTU. Kendall Fisher hit two threes to end the half and give Lawrence Tech a six-point lead at the intermission.
The Blue Devils started the second half with a 5-0 run to push the lead to nine with just 1:29 off the clock in the third. A 6-0 run would cut the Lawrence Tech lead to just three (41-38) with 30 seconds remaining before the fourth quarter.
With the score 46-42, Kiana Votava hit a jumper and Larson nailed two free throws to tie the ball game with 5:50 left before Larson would give Siena the lead with a layup to complete the 6-0 run. Buckingham tied the game with a layup before Teryn Kline hit a three-point jumper to put the Blue Devils back on top with 1:50 remaining. Fisher would complete the 6-0 run with a free throw with just 40 ticks remaining. Larson hit two free throws to cut the lead to 52-50 with just 25 remaining. Jayshonna Blackshire would get a steal on the inbound and then get fouled. She hit her two shots from the charity stripe to tie the game at 52. A foul on Anaya Powell sent Fisher to the line for LTU to put the Blue Devils back on top by two points before Larson hit a layup to tie things up with six seconds left to force overtime.
Lawrence Tech started the extra session with a 6-0 run to put the game away and earn the five-point victory to advance in the tournament.
TOP SAINTS
• Larson was 10-19 from the floor and 4-5 from the free throw line to lead the Saints in scoring.
• Demi Russell added 13 points on 5-8 shooting with two rebounds and an assist.
THE OPPOSITION
• Kendall Fisher led LTU with 24 points and seven rebounds.
• Nicole Buckingham finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
SEASON WRAP UP
The Saints finish 2018-19 with a 23-8 overall record and a 15-5 conference mark. The team had one player selected first-team All-WHAC, one chosen second team, and one player picked to the all-freshman team in the WHAC season honors.
