LAKEWOOD, Colorado – Oklahoma Baptist erased an 11-point second half deficit to force overtime against Colorado Christian, but fell short 88-94 in the NCCAA Central Region Championship.
Trailing 71-73 with 29 seconds remaining in regulation,
Katy Custer made a difficult layup through contact and converted the and-one free throw to give the Lady Bison a one-point lead at the CCU Events Center.
Claire Paxton missed a runner on the final possession for CCU, but Mikala Gordon grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled with five seconds on the clock. Gordon split a pair of free throws to send the game into overtime.
OBU briefly gained the lead on two occasions in the extra period, but the Cougars were able to answer each time and hold off the Lady Bison for the win.
It was tough for OBU to maintain a lead throughout the contest, as the Lady Bison played with the advantage for just 52 seconds in regulation.
"Missed free throws and missed layups in the first half hurt our chances. We were right there fighting and just couldn't get over that hill," said head coach
Casi Bays.
The Lady Bison shot 27-of-35 from the free throw line and converted all 10 opportunities in the overtime period.
Tasha Edge finished with a game-high 23 points on four-of-seven shooting from behind the three-point arc.
Kiara Moore added 10 points and eight rebounds.
Senior
Arielle Cooper was limited to just 16 minutes, playing much of the game in foul trouble, but still managed to score 12 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Fellow senior
Raquel Dudzevich scored four points in what could be her final game in a Lady Bison uniform.
Custer scored 15 of the 26 bench points for OBU before picking up her fifth foul in overtime, and
Cameerah Graves dished out six assists to lead all players.
With the win, the Cougars claimed an automatic bid to the NCCAA National Championship in Winona Lake, Indiana.
The Lady Bison, now 15-15, will await a possible at-large bid to the national championship to determine if their season continues.
"When [the outcome] is in somebody else's hands you can't know," said Bays. "All we can do is pray and hope that we get the at-large bid, and it's a waiting game until we hear."
The final tournament field is expected to be announced on Saturday evening.
