Ohio Wesleyan 63, Earlham 61

Dec. 5, 2007

Junior wing Stacey Aaron (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) buried a 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds remaining in regulation time to lift Ohio Wesleyan over Earlham in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Wednesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Earlham had taken a 61-60 lead on a lay-in by Tasha Merrill with :29 to play. Ohio Wesleyan worked for a good shot and senior wing Lindsey Macklin (Columbus/Bexley) found Aaron alone in the right corner for the game-winning basket.

The Quakers got the ball past halfcourt on the ensuing inbounds play, but Samantha Lurie's long 3-point attempt was off the mark.

Earlham took an early 7-3 lead on 3 free throws by Whitney McBurrows and a basket by Tracy Hill, but Ohio Wesleyan seized the lead with back-to-back 3-pointers by senior guard Kathleen Cooper (Columbus/Upper Arlington) and freshman post Kayla Gordon (St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville).

Gordon hit another 3-pointer to give the Bishops a 14-11 lead with 13:37 left in the half, but Earlham rallied this time, assembling an 8-0 streak capped by a Katy Buda 3-pointer that gave the Quakers a 19-14 lead just past the midway point of the period.

That lead was short-lived as well, with the Bishops responding with a pair of free throws from senior wing Steffi Graf (Poland/Seminary) and a 3-pointer by senior post Kelli Lester (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) to even the score at 19-19.

Ohio Wesleyan broke a 21-21 tie with 6 straight points that featured a pair of buckets by freshman wing Tyler Cordell (Columbus/St. Francis DeSales), but Earlham put together the last rally of the half, gettting a bucket and a 3-pointer from Merrill to cut the deficit to a single point, and after the teams traded points, Earlham's Samantha Lurie beat the first-half buzzer with a basket that gave the Quakers a 33-32 lead going into the locker room.

The Bishops appeared to take charge early in the second half, going on a 10-0 run. Gordon contributed a pair of baskets, Graf hit a 3-pointer and Aaron finished off the run with a 3-pointer that gave the Bishops a 49-36 advantage with 13:16 left in regulation time.

Earlham got back into the game by holding the Bishops to just 2 baskets over the next 8-plus minutes, getting 3 baskets from Merrill, a 3-pointer and a basket by McBurrows and a bucket from Tracy Hill before Shontavia Davis scored to make it a 55-51 game with 5:02 remaining and a pair of McBurrows free throws brought the Quakers within 55-53.

Lester ended the Bishop drought with a lay-in, but Earlham tied the game on a McBurrows layin and free throws by Hill and Davis, and the Quakers took a 58-57 lead on Jayana Sims's free throw with 1:44 remaining.

Graf buried a 3-pointer with 1:31 left to stake the Bishops to a 60-58 advantage.

Earlham closed to within 60-59 when McBurrows hit the second of 2 free throws with 1:06 left, and after forcing a shot clock violation, the Quakers took the lead on Merrill's lay-in with :23 to play.

Lester led the Bishops with 13 points, while Gordon finished with 12 points. Macklin grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds and Graf had a team-leading 6 assists.

McBurrows led Earlham with 19 points and Merrill finished with 13 points. Sims and Davis had 8 rebounds apiece for the Quakers, and Lurie and Davis shared the team lead with 4 assists.

Box Score