BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. - A late surge in the second overtime gave Stillman College women's basketball its first Southern States Athletic Conference win of the season Monday night, 87-84. The win ends the fall semester on a high note before the Tigers (9-4, 1-3 SSAC) head into a two-week Christmas break.
Stillman led most of the first 40 minutes of action, but Blue Mountain held a slight advantage for most of overtime. Trailing 84-81 with 1:05 to play in the second overtime,
Ke'Asia McKinney stole the ball at the top of the key and raced to the other end for a layup to pull Stillman within a point. On the next possession,
Jamesha King blocked a shot and scored a second-chance basket with 21.6 remaining to give Stillman an 85-84 lead.
Imani Wimbish-Gay, who led Stillman with nine points in the two OTs, knocked down two free throws with 8.2 remaining to help secure Stillman's win.
Blue Mountain's leading scorer, Carmen Taylor, had 31 points on the night including four 3-pointers, but her 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the front of the iron.
King finished with a double-double 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 14 rebounds. She also had two assists, two steals and a block.
Laneja Warner and Wimbish-Gay each scored 20.
Farrah Pearson gave Stillman its first lead, 4-2, with just over two minutes played in the game. It was part of an 8-0 run for the Tigers that helped create a lead they held until late in the first half. Early in the second quarter,
Alexandria Haymon hit a 3 to give Stillman its first double-digit lead, 20-10. Stillman led by as many as 13 points, 28-15, after a McKinney free throw with 5:35 to play in the half. However, BMCU scored 12 unanswered points in the final 4:18 to lead 30-29 at halftime.
King scored back-to-back baskets to open the second half and regain Stillman's lead, 33-30. The Tigers opened the second half on an 8-0 run to lead by seven, 37-30. When Blue Mountain cut it to three with less than two minutes left in the quarter,
Korryn Millerton and King scored to push Stillman's lead back to seven, 53-46, after three quarters.
The Tigers worked their lead back to double digits, 62-51, with 5:46 to play. BMCU capitalized on four Stillman fouls, two turnovers and two missed shots to build an 8-0 run to make it a three-point game, 62-59 Stillman. The last three minutes saw multiple turnovers by both teams. Stillman stretched its lead to four, 63-59, on a Haymon free throw, but Crystin Guy hit a pair on the other end with 1:35 left to make it a two-point game. Wimbish-Gay hit 2-of-4 free throws in the final four seconds to keep it a 3-point game, but Carmen Taylor hit a 3 for BMCU with five seconds left to send the game into overtime.
Blue Mountain led most all of overtime. Wimbish-Gay's layup with 1:10 remaining in the first overtime ended a drought of 9:27 without a made basket for the Tigers. Most of the first overtime points came from the free throw line for both teams. With 20.6 seconds left, Millerton rebounded a missed 3 by Warner. Warner then stole the in-bound pass and drew a foul, sinking two free throws to give Stillman its first lead of overtime, 75-74, with 17 seconds left. A foul sent Blue Mountain's Crystin Guy to the line with 10 seconds left. She scored 1-of-2 free throws to tie it. Wimbish-Gay's jumper with :02 left was blocked, sending the game into a second OT.
In addition to Taylor, three other Toppers scored in double figures: Alexis Wynn (13), Guy (12) and Charnita Brooks (11).
Stillman College will return to campus the last week of December in preparation for its Jan. 3 home game against the University of Mobile. Tip time on Jan. 3 is 5:30 p.m.
