LYNDONVILLE, Vt. – The Plymouth State University women's basketball team rebounded from a 12-point third quarter deficit to force overtime, then defeat the Vermont State University Lyndon Hornets, 66-65, in a non-conference thriller in Stannard Gymnasium Monday evening.
The Hornets had possession with an inbounds play at midcourt with less than ten seconds to play and the game tied at 65-65 in overtime. Graduate student
Sabrina Vlahovic (New Hope, Pa.) intercepted the inbounds pass and was fouled on her way to the transition basket. Vlahovic knocked down a free throw with five seconds left and Plymouth State's defense didn't allow a shot on the ensuing possession to secure the thrilling win.
Junior
Raegan Peck (Dudley, Mass.) led the Panther scoring with 19 points, while classmate
Hailey Malozzi (Maynard, Mass.) fell a rebound short of her third-straight double-double, tallying 13 points and nine boards. Vlahovic ended the evening with nine points, including the game-winning free throw.
Plymouth State improves to 5-18, while the Hornets go to 10-14 on the season.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 66, VTSU Lyndon 65 (OT)
- Plymouth State (5-18)
- VTSU Lyndon (10-14)
Top Performers:
How it Happened:
- The teams traded buckets to open play as the Hornets found themselves with a 13-11 advantage midway through the first quarter.
- Plymouth State closed out the first quarter strong with an 8-0 run to go up 21-16 after ten minutes of play.
- The Panthers extended the margin to nine points (25-16) with 9:06 left in the second quarter.
- VTSU Lyndon locked down defensively to close out the second quarter, as the Panthers managed just one additional second quarter point. The Hornets sprung into an 18-1 run to take a 34-26 halftime lead.
- The Hornets continued to knock down shots from distance, hitting the first field goal of the third quarter, the team's fifth three-point field goal in a row, to extend the margin to 37-26 with 8:56 to go.
- Plymouth State started to claw back, registering 11 unanswered points to shrink the deficit to 41-40 with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter.
- The one-point margin remained at the conclusion of the third quarter, as the Hornets led 48-47 with ten minutes left to play.
- Plymouth State tied things up at 50-50 with 6:09 left in regulation.
- Behind a 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter, the Panthers successfully completed the comeback after trailing by double-digits. Plymouth State led 57-53 in the back-and-forth battle with 3:30 on the clock.
- VTSU responded with five-straight points to go back in front 58-57 with sixty-three seconds left in the contest.
- Plymouth State called a timeout with possession down two points (59-57) and 34.6 seconds showing on the scoreboard. Malozzi found the ball down low, drove to the rim and was fouled, putting the forward at the free throw line, where she knocked down both shots to level things at 59-59 with 22.3 seconds to go. VTSU followed the Panther lead, calling a timeout of its own.
- Out of the timeout, the Hornets turned the ball over on a double-dribble infraction, giving the Panthers the ball with four seconds left, but the Panthers were unable to attempt a field goal as time expired, forcing overtime.
- VTSU knocked down its 11th three-pointer of the evening to open the overtime period and give the Hornets a 62-59 lead.
- Peck responded with a shot from distance of her own, draining the bucket from downtown to tie the game back at 64-64.
- After making one-of-two free throws to fall behind 65-64, Malozzi was fouled again with 13 seconds with the chance to keep the team in it. After missing the first, she hit the second – tying the game at 65-65.
- The Hornets used their final timeout to advance the ball into the front court with the shot clock turned off and possibly the last possession of overtime. Vlahovic heroically intercepted the inbound pass and was fouled on her drive to the bucket. Hitting one-of-two at the charity stripe was enough to secure the win for Plymouth State.
By the Numbers:
- VTSU Lyndon attempted 30 shots from beyond the arc, compared to 23 two-point attempts. The Hornets were 11-of-30 from deep (36.7%) and 21-of-53 overall (39.6%).
- Plymouth State outrebounded the Hornets, 41-38.
- The Panthers had a monstrous 14 offensive rebounds, helping to contribute to 16 more field goal attempts (69-53).
- The game produced nine ties and 13 lead changes.
- PSU came up with 18 points off the bench while holding the VTSU Lyndon reserves scoreless.
- The Panthers led in points off turnovers (22-8) and points in the paint (34-20).
- Plymouth State owns a 15-6 lead in the head-to-head series dating back to the 1987-88 season.
- PSU has won four out of the last five meetings.
Up Next:
- The Panthers close out the regular season this week with two home conference games. The Huskies of the University of Southern Maine trek to Foley Gymnasium on Wednesday (Feb. 19) for a 5:00 p.m. start time.
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