Women's Basketball Comeback not Enough in OT Setback on Tuesday
DALLAS – A furious comeback late in the third quarter gave the University of Dallas women's basketball team enough to nip a 15-point deficit at the start of the fourth. However, Dallas Christian College avenged an earlier loss this season at the Maher Center with a 77-76 victory in overtime.
Trailing 38-27 at halftime, the Crusaders (4-3) outscored DCC by nine with a 25-point third quarter to only be down a pair heading into the final 10 minutes. Michelle DeCoud (Monument, Colo.) sank both free throw attempts with 1:43 left in regulation to make it even at 65. After neither team scored the last duration of the fourth, Dallas Christian would prevail by one in the extra frame. The host Crusaders have won four of their last five games.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Celsi Caraway (Arlington, Texas) nailed a three-pointer a minute and a half into action to give UD the lead. After an opposition basket, DeCoud went two-for-two at the line to make it a 5-2 advantage. Dallas Christian netted the next four points, and Helen Onyenso (Oak Park, Ill.) split at the free throw mark to tie the game at 6 with 4:38 left in the first. The home Crusaders got hot with a 12-3 run that included a pair of separate six-point streaks. Onyenso put in both free throws in the last 23 seconds to make it an 18-11 deficit after one quarter.
Onyenso led the team with a career-high 21 points and shot 11-for-14 from the charity stripe.
A minute into the next quarter, Onyenso tallied another free throw and then followed DeCoud's jumper with one of her own to close the gap at 18-16. With a little under six minutes to play, Jules Oliveti (Southlake, Texas) put in a jumper to make it 19-18. Moments later, Caraway answered DCC's three-pointer with a trey of her own to keep the margin at one. Olivia Severson (La Crosse, Wis.) lifted Dallas in front the last time that half to make it 23-22 and 3:54 remaining.
DCC scored the next nine points with a three by Sabreana Hardemon capping the stretch to go up 31-23. A layup by DeCoud stopped the run with two minutes left, but then a 14-4 overall scoring swing sent the home team into the break up by 11.
Dallas allowed a couple quick baskets to start the third quarter as the opposing Crusaders ran the largest margin of the game up to 15 (42-27). A three by Caraway and layup by DeCoud cut the gap to 10 with 7:15 to go in the third, but then a five point swing that included a trey by Nyeia Bias made it a 15-point difference again with six and a half.
The Crusaders in navy and white then chipped away. A trifecta by Severson narrowed the deficit to 10 (49-39) and sparked a 9-0 run. Onyenso added two field goals and Caraway made two at the line as UD got within four (49-45) with 2:37 still to play in the third.
Christionna Hawkins for DCC broke the run and made it a seven-point lead again, but seven of the final nine points came for the guests. Onyenso was responsible for six of them with a four at the line.
Severson's three 11 seconds into the fourth gave the road Crusaders their first advantage since the mentioned one in the second quarter. The next four points went to DCC, but then a DeCoud layup and two free throws by Onyenso flipped the lead again with 6:34. Dallas Christian knotted it at 5:50 as Erionna Brown was good on the back-end of two at the line. She then hit a layup for the lead and Bias got a fastbreak layup on a steal by Chrystal Ngawuchu to make it 63-59.
UD's leading scorer on the night, Onyenso, was able to counter with another layup at 4:20. Two scoreless minutes went by as Panda Green (Farmersville, Texas) forced a steal and tied the game as her second layup attempt went down. Ngawuchu responded on a quick layup to go up 65-63, but then DeCoud was fouled the next possession and secured a tie score at the end of the 40-minute duration.
Caraway started the extra quarter off with a three-pointer. UD worked to keep a narrow edge as Green split at the line to make it a two point game. DCC's Hardemon drilled a long three to go up briefly with 3:20. DeCoud countered back on a jumper to help Dallas match a season-high 71 points from its most recent game. The momentum turned for Dallas Christian as Brown's jumper on the next possession started a 5-0 swing. DeCoud tallied the last seven points with a jumper in 38 seconds making it 75-73 and later a three-pointer with three seconds to go to close within one. Her second made three-pointer in as many rare attempts brought the score to its final result.
DeCoud finished behind her senior teammate in points with 19. It is the third time this season the forward has produced that amount. She was a rebound shy of a double-double. Caraway and Severson each contributed 14 points. Severson's personal-best came from the bench and had half of them in the third quarter. Caraway, Green, and Oliveti tied for second on the team with six rebounds apiece.
Dallas Christian shot 45.6 percent from the field, while UD hit only 29.1 percent. DCC edged the guests on the glass 51-46. Still, Dallas mustered 22 offensive rebounds. The turnover margin favored the road Crusaders by nine (40-31). UD scored 29 points off miscues compared to 19 by Dallas Christian.
Bias shot 9-for-11 from the floor and 3-of-4 downtown to boast a game-high 26 points. Brown tossed in 19 and Ngawuchu grabbed 14 boards to lead all players.
TIP-INS
Dallas sank 23 free throws for a season-best tonight. That was only two better than its previous total at Hendrix College on November 18th.
Green dished a team-high eight assists and accumulated 18 total in the two games against Dallas Christian this season.
Caraway swiped five steals to tie a personal-most. The sophomore achieved this amount twice her debut season against Southwestern Adventist University (Dec. 1st, 2016) and Hendrix College (Jan. 3rd, 2017).
UD as a team came up with 18 steals on Tuesday, which just surpassed the previous season-high by one versus the same foe earlier in the campaign.
SOCIAL MEDIA
.@UDallaswbb Final: #UDCrusaders drop OT contest at Dallas Christian College on Tuesday. Onyenso and Severson each posted career-highs in scoring. #GoUD #UDWBB #d3h pic.twitter.com/2SlfANkoxb
— UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports) December 6, 2017
UP NEXT
Dallas turns its attention to final exams the next week and will be back on the court at the Maher Center to open a four-game homestand. The stretch that runs through the rest of the calendar year will feature Colorado College on Dec. 16th in the conference opener.