ST. PAUL – The Southwest Minnesota State women’s basketball team (5-3, 0-3 NSIC) fell 82-79 in an overtime heartbreaker to Concordia-St. Paul (4-4, 1-1 NSIC) on Saturday night at the Gangelhoff Center.

Despite a layup from Meleah Reinhart and a free-throw from Sam Wall with six seconds on the clock, CSP’s Riley Wheatcraft, who finished with a team-high 22 points, scored with one second remaining to force the game into overtime.

SMSU was led in scoring by Jenna Borchers and Sadie Stelter who tied for a team-high 21 points. Tonight’s performance was a career-high for Stelter and a season-high for Borchers. Stelter and Borchers now join Reinhart as the only Mustangs to record a 20-point game this season.

Abuk Akoi led the Mustangs on the defensive end with her sixth career double-double with 15 points and 15 points. Meleah Reinhart also added 12 points with a second-best seven rebounds.

The Mustangs trailed by one-point after the end of the first quarter at 14-13 before the Golden Bears kick-started the second quarter to advance their lead to as much as a nine-points. A three-pointer from Stelter with under a minute remaining would help the Mustangs come within five points to head into halftime down five at 35-30.

In the third quarter, the Mustangs held the Golden Bears scoreless at 47 points with a two-minute drought as the Mustangs closed in at 47-44 with two free throws from Wall.

The Mustangs then had two crucial chances to close in as Reinhart took two chances at the line to go 4-of-4 and make it a one-point game at 49-48 with two minutes left in the third.

Akoi then tied the game a minute later at 49-49 with a free throw before two baskets from CSP’s Jadyn Hanson would finish the third with a four-point lead at 53-49.

The Mustangs trailed for the remainder of the fourth until one minute to go with Stelter completed a three-point play to put the Mustangs up 70-69. The lead was then advanced by Akoi who knocked down both free throws. The Mustangs kept an edge as Reinhart finished to the hoop for a layup and Wall stepped to the line to secure a three-point lead with six seconds left, CSP’s Wheatcraft tied the game up with one second left to send the game into overtime.

Overtime went scoreless for the first two minutes before CSP’s Sidney Wentland broke away for a jumper in the paint to go up 76-74.

With 22 seconds left, Borchers made it a one-point game once again before Danielle Schaub put the Golden Bears up 82-79 with two free throws to secure the 82-79 victory.

The Mustangs played tonight without Caleigh Rodning, a leading rebounding and all-conference player, due to injury.

Southwest Minnesota State returns for a weekend homestead facing St. Cloud State on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Minnesota Duluth on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the R/A Facility.

Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications