Mount Union women's basketball team (4-3, 2-1 OAC) defeated Heidelberg (2-4, 0-3 OAC), by a score of 68-62 in overtime on Saturday, December 8 in Tiffin, Ohio.
Katie Crider
The Raiders took an early 12-10 lead on a three-pointer from sophomore/guard Haley Drayer at the 10:13 mark of the opening half. Heidelberg responded and took a 17-14 lead on a Morgan Harrigan three-pointer with 7:27 remaining before the break. Mount Union would eventually take a 25-24 lead into intermission.
The Student Princes took the largest lead of the contest thus far, at 34-27, when Brittany Skolnicki buried a three-pointer at the 16:03 mark. Heidelberg then extended the lead to 11, at 41-30, on two free-throws from Amanda Campbell with 10:41 remaining in the second half.
The Purple and White battled back by going on a 11-0 run capped by a jumper from senior/post Alicia Williams off an assist from Drayer at the 6:15 mark, making the score 41-41.
A triple by Campbell gave Heidelberg a 50-46 lead with 36 second remaining in the contest. However, two three-pointers by freshman/guard Katie Crider in the final 30 seconds allowed the Raiders to force the game into overtime.
Mount scored first in the extra stanza as Williams connected on a jumper with 4:01 remaining to give her team a 54-52 lead. Two free-throws by Heidelberg's Maureen Hunter gave the hosts a 56-55 lead with 2:16 remaining.
Alicia Williams
The Raiders then went on a 12-7 run capped by two free-throws from senior/guard Ellie Geiger with 7 seconds remaining to give the Purple and White a 68-60 lead. Heidelberg added a last second bucket but the visiting Raiders preserved a 68-62 conference victory.
Individually, the Raiders were led by Geiger's 17 points while Crider added a career-high 16 points. Williams scored 14 points in addition to pulling down a game-high 17 rebounds. Heidelberg was led by Skolnicki's 16 points.
Mount Union shot .429 from the field compared to .345 for Heidelberg. The Purple and White held a 43-34 rebounding advantage and committed 20 turnovers to 14 for the Student Princes.
The Raiders next return home to host Otterbein on Saturday, December 15. Tip-off is currently scheduled for 3:00 p.m.