Gophers Happy to See Different Outcome in OT

Goucher's First Win in 10 Tries Against Susquehanna

TOWSON, Md. — Goucher's three-point lead in the closing seconds of regulation vanished when Susquehanna's Korey McCaffrey landed a 3-point basket with 2.2 seconds remaining, sending tonight's Landmark Conference contest into overtime.

Fast forward to the final moments of the five-minute extra session and, once again, the Gophers are up three. McCaffrey tries to rescue her team a second time and force a second OT by launching a shot from 3-point range with 3.3 seconds showing on the clock. This time, however, her attempt comes up short and head coach Didi Cotton's squad was able to celebrate a 77-74 victory.

There wasn't any reason to anticipate overtime when the Gophers (4-11, 1-4 Landmark) opened up a 13-point lead by scoring nine consecutive points during one nearly five-minute stretch of the first half. The run ended when Amarra Boone made two free throws for Susquehanna, reducing her team's deficit to 22-11 with 6:37 remaining before halftime.

Goucher began the second half with a 26-17 lead, but it was completely gone midway through the period because the Gophers missed 16 of their first 17 field-goal attempts, along with three throws. The Crusaders (4-12, 1-4 Landmark) went ahead for the first time since the first four minutes of the contest when Nora Joyce capped a run of 13 unanswered points by knocking down a 3-pointer with 10:30 remaining in the regulation.

The Gophers' second field goal of the second half was a layup by Kiara Doughty (Salisbury, Md./Wicomico) with 9:20 left to play that created a 32-32 tie.

(more to come)