KERRVILLE, Texas – Fighting back from a 10-point halftime deficit, the LeTourneau University women's basketball team saw senior Ashley Reed send the game to overtime with a three with eight seconds left in regulation before hanging on for a 70-67 overtime win at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas on Saturday, December 30th.
 
LETU's victory gives the YellowJackets a 3-8 overall record heading into the 2018 side of the 2017-18 campaign while the Mountaineers are now 2-9.
 
Points were hard to come by for both teams in the opening minutes of the game with Schreiner jumping out to a 4-0 lead before Reed would hit her first three of the game to pull LETU within one at 4-3 at the 7:23 mark in the first quarter. LeTourneau would hang around with a Mountaineer squad looking to break the game open by pushing their lead out to seven at 13-6, but a 5-0 run to end the quarter by LETU drew the YellowJackets back within two at 13-11 to end the first period.
 
Looking to get over the hump and take their first lead of the game, LETU would find more offensive struggles throughout the second quarter with Schreiner extending their lead back out to a seven-point margin at 22-15 with 6:29 left in the first half before adding a Sydney Williams jumper in the paint to go up nine. The Mountaineer lead would then grow to as many as a game-high 13 points with 2:16 left in the half on an Abigail Hewitt triple before Taylor Abbe answered with a three of her own as LETU would trail 34-24 at the break. LeTourneau would manage to shoot just eight of 31 (25.8 percent) from the field while seeing Schreiner shoot 46.2 percent (12-26) in the first half.
 
Small gains were seen for the YellowJackets throughout the third quarter with each team scoring four straight points to open the second half before Savannah Cummings would hit four free throws to pull LETU within six at 42-36. LeTourneau ended up scoring 13 of their 21 points in the third from the charity stripe while cutting the Schreiner halftime lead in half at 50-45.
 
LeTourneau managed to pull within one at 50-49 just 54 seconds into the fourth quarter following an Abbe jumper followed by a fastbreak layup by Keauna Whitfield with the YellowJackets looking to use momentum in their favor. Every time LETU would manage to get within a single possession, Schreiner would find a way to push the lead back out to five points with the score sitting at 59-54 heading into the final five minutes of regulation. A Cummings jumper with 2:16 left in the fourth brought LeTourneau back within one at 62-61 before a two-minute scoring drought for both squads would be endured.
 
Jordyn Villa gave the Mountaineers a three-point lead with 14 seconds left when LETU would decide not to use a timeout, but rather push the ball up the court to a wide-open Reed who knocked down the game-tying triple. Schreiner would get an opportunity at a game-winning three that would fall short, sending the game into overtime.
 
The extra session proved to be troublesome for both squads as the first 3:07 of overtime would pass before Cummings finally opened the scoring in the extra frame with a jumper in the paint and foul to give LETU their first lead of the game at 67-64. Schreiner then hit one free throw and held the YellowJackets scoreless on their next trip down the floor before getting a pair of free throws from Danielle Cain to once again tie the game. Following a timeout by LETU, Reed found an open opportunity and drove to the hole while putting up a 12-foot runner that fell with 34 seconds left to allow LeTourneau to reclaim a 69-67 lead. The Mountaineers looked to take the lead with a three, but would come up empty as Sha'Donnaver Young would collect the rebound and hit one of two free throws to make the score 70-67. Villa would put up one last-ditch game-tying three that would come up short as the YellowJackets managed to escape with their third road victory of the year.
 
"Tonight was a great win against a very scrappy, hard-working Schreiner squad" said head coach Cassi Rozanski in a post-game interview. "I'm proud of how we fought back and didn't lose our focus." "Taylor Abbe stepped up big for us tonight by finishing with 14 points and 16 rebounds." "Ashley Reed was face-guarded all night, but stepped up like a senior should with a huge three and drive in the lane to put us ahead at the end of the game." "It was a true team effort and I could not be more proud of them."
 
A 31-7 advantage in second chance points allowed for LETU to overcome a 17-10 points off turnovers deficit as the YellowJackets held a commanding 68-41 advantage on the glass. LETU assisted on 10 of 22 made buckets compared to 12 of 25 for Schreiner while also getting 26 points in the paint.
 
Three LeTourneau players recorded double-doubles on the night, with Whitfield (16 points, 12 rebounds), Cummings (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Abbe (14 points, 16 rebounds) all getting into double-figures in the points and rebounds column. Reed scored 15 points and hauled in five boards on the night while Leaven added five points. Villa was a one-person wrecking crew for the Mountaineers, finishing with 36 points on 15-22 shooting.
 
After rounding out 2017 with a victory, LETU will next be in action on Thursday, January 4th when the YellowJackets take on McMurry University at 5:30 p.m. in Abilene, Texas.