GREENSBURG, PA – Hilbert College Women's Basketball traveled to Chambers Hall this evening for a mid-week Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference matchup with the Bobcats of Pitt-Greensburg. In a total team-effort, the Hawks grinded out a 68-64 overtime victory over the Bobcats to earn the team's first win of the young AMCC campaign.
HIGHLIGHTS
Kelsey Schlagenhauf was huge for Hilbert in this one, notching her first double-double of the year on season highs in both points and rebounds with 21 and 12 respectively. Schlagenhauf came through for the Hawks down the stretch, with ten of her 21 points coming in the fourth quarter and overtime, including eight straight Hawk points in a momentum-shifting final five minutes of regulation.
In a game that saw Hilbert post a season-best 68 points, three Hawks joined Schlagenhauf with double-digit scoring outputs.
Kayla Johnson (15 points),
Kylie Morgan (12 points), and
Chloe Champagne (10 points) all provided timely scoring for the royal and gold in this back-and-forth contest.
Mackenzie Catan (four rebounds and a block) and
LaDasia Leak (two points and a steal) each chipped in on both ends of the floor, while
Cianna Tobia (eight points, seven rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block) did it all for Hilbert in her second game of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The game started out as a defensive battle, with the score knotted at three-all just under hallway through the opening quarter. After a pair of threes from Tobia and a layup from Johnson tied the game at 11-11, the Bobcats responded the with final bucket of the frame to make it a 13-11 advantage for the hosts after ten minutes of play.
- Pitt-Greensburg extended its lead to as many as ten points early on in the second quarter, but a hit from beyond the arc by Champagne, a pair of buckets inside by Morgan, and four points from Johnson sent the Hawks into the locker room down just four points.
- After buckets from Morgan and Johnson, a four-point run from Schlagenhauf gave Hilbert its first lead since the first quarter. However, an 8-0 Bobcat run regained the lead with under three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Five straight empty possessions from Greensburg paired with buckets from Champagne and Johnson allowed the Hawks to send the game to the final ten minutes deadlocked at 38.
- The fourth quarter saw back-and-forth scoring with neither team gaining more than a three-point advantage in the frame. Schlagenhauf's stretch of eight-straight Hilbert points gave the Hawks a 52-51 lead with 2:25 to go, but an answer by the Bobcats sent the game into the final minute with the hosts up by one. The teams traded baskets on well-designed plays out of timeouts in the final minute to send this AMCC contest to overtime.
- Champagne got the scoring started in the extra frame on a drive to the rim through contact, but the Bobcats answered to tie the game on their ensuing possession. Ignited by a Schlagenhauf steal and layup, the Hawks came up with the game's next eight points to take a commanding 67-59 lead with under a minute to go. Schlagenhauf, Morgan, Tobia, and Leak all contributed two points during the pivotal stretch for Hilbert.
- The Bobcats did their best to make the final minute interesting, but a free throw from Johnson made it a two-possession game in the dying seconds to put the finishing touches on the key conference victory for the Hawks.
GAME NOTES
- Hilbert used a 13-7 advantage at the free-throw line to combat deficits in fastbreak points (20-7), points off turnovers (29-22), and second chance points (16-12).
- The Hawks held a 40-34 points in the paint lead in the game, which included an 8-4 advantage in overtime.
UP NEXT
The team will look to keep the momentum going as the Redhawks from La Roche University come to the Hafner Recreation Center this weekend for a 4 pm tipoff on Saturday, December 11
th.
