CARROLLTON, Ga. - For the second straight game, the UWG women's basketball team fell in overtime in Atlantic Sun Play, dropping an 86-78 decision to the Bellarmine Knights on Thursday at The Coliseum.
West Georgia (7-9, 1-4 ASUN) couldn't close it out at home, as they led Bellarmine (12-6, 3-2 ASUN) by six with just over a minute to go before the Knights roared back to force overtime and knock off UWG in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
It was a game that featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes before it was all said and done. Both teams had similar numbers across the board, but the Wolves hurt themselves with 23 turnovers including nine combined in the final quarter of regulation and the overtime period.
UWG also put four scorers in double-figures for a second consecutive game. Zuriyah Davis led the charge with 23 points including five three-pointers while Destiny Jones chipped with 17. Sydne Tolbert finished with 11 while Mykah Anderson had 10.
The first half remained close the whole way through as the teams shot similar clips from the field. West Georgia hit a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter, while the Knights went 0-for-4, but still led UWG by five at the end of the first. Bellarmine then stretched their lead to eight, their largest of the half, on the opening basket of the second quarter.
From there, the Wolves chipped away in the second quarter, using the defensive effort to hold the Knights to 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting in the period. Davis, who led UWG with 12 first half points, hit a smooth, mid-range jumper on the Wolves' final possession of the half, cutting the halftime deficit to one possession at 30-28.
Grace O'Gara gave the Wolves the lead on their opening possession of the third quarter, nailing a three-pointer. From there, it was back-and-forth as Bellarmine went up by as much as four and UWG going up as much as six with the third quarter alone featuring eight lead changes.
With 8:10 remaining in the game, Bellarmine hit a bucket to go up by seven, and it looked like it was now or never for UWG, but the Wolves responded. Coming out of a 30-second timeout, the Wolves went on a 15-0 run to make it a 71-63 lead to force a BU timeout with 2:11 to go.
Bellarmine then had an answer of their own, going on a 9-1 run after a timeout, tying things up at the 29 second mark on a layup by Hayley Harrison, who led all scorers with 30.
Sydne Tolbert drew a foul with 11 ticks left and calmly knocked down both free throws, putting the Wolves up 74-72. The Knights' then got a call of their own to send Skylar Treadwell to the line, and with six seconds left, she made both of her free throws to tie it up. The Wolves did not get a good look before time expired, and the game went to OT.
The Knights scored the first four points of the extra period, and never looked back, outscoring the Wolves 12-4 in overtime.
The tightly contested game was close on the glass with Bellarmine pulling down 40 rebounds to 39 from UWG. Amanda Blake's nine boards led the way while Tolbert had six.
West Georgia fell to 0-3 this season in overtime games.
The Wolves wrap up their four-game homestead on Saturday, hosting the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in a 2 p.m. contest at The Coliseum.
