St. Joseph, Minn. – A Nebraska Wesleyan layup at the buzzer fell off the front of the rim as College of Saint Benedict earned a 77-75 double overtime victory over the Prairie Wolves in a marathon women's basketball game Friday night (Nov. 16) at the Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Tournament hosted by College of Saint Benedict.
 
Maddie Schmitz scored a layup with 2.4 seconds left to put Saint Benedict ahead in the second overtime period.  NWU called timeout and advanced the ball to halfcourt to set up the potential game-tying play.  Caitlin Navratil drove the right side of the lane but her layup rimmed off giving CSB the victory.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan had to overcome a double digit second half deficit just to force the overtime.  NWU trailed by 11 points at halftime with the score at 30-19.  CSB maintained that advantage most of the third quarter then led by seven going into the fourth quarter.
 
NWU began chipping away and tied the game at 53-53 on a 3-pointer by Mikenzie Delgado with 6:02 left.  The Prairie Wolves took their first lead on a pair of free throws from Sydney Skupa at the 5:20 mark.  With 50 seconds left in regulation Navratil hit a layup to put NWU up 61-59.  CSB tied the game on a pair of free throws with 39 seconds left.
 
Neither team was able to score in the final seconds as NWU turned the ball over, then Saint Benedict missed a game-winner at the buzzer.
 
Things looked great for the Prairie Wolves in the first overtime period as they built up a five point advantage with just over two minutes left in the game.  However, NWU was held without a point in the final 2:17 as Saint Benedict rallied to tie it again.  Both teams struggled down the stretch as no points were scored in the final 1:32.  NWU didn't make a field goal in the overtime period as all six points were a the free throw line.
 
Klaire Phillips finally ended the Prairie Wolves scoring drought in the second overtime as her basket with 2:28 left in the game was the first score from either team.  CSB got an old fashioned 3-point play to take a one point lead on their next possession.  Phillips nailed a pair of free throws to get NWU back up 71-70 with 1:38 left.  The lead change again on a 3-pointer from McKenzie Holgate with 1:14 remaining.  Navratil tied the game at 73-73 on a basket with 53 seconds left only to see CSB respond with a basket to take the lead.
 
As time was ticking down in the final seconds, Phillips was fouled driving to the basket.  She made both free throws to tie it at 75-75.  After the ball was advanced to halfcourt with four seconds left, Saint Benedict got the eventual game-winner from Schmitz.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan forced Saint Benedict into 34 turnovers with their full court pressure.  It was the shooting that was off for the Prairie Wolves as they shot 34.1 percent from the field, making only seven field goals in the first half.  NWU was 3-24 from 3-point range but did hit 16-19 at the free throw line.
 
Saint Benedict shot 41.7 percent from the floor, but they were only 5-27 from 3-point land.  CSB did hold a big advantage in rebounding at 58-43.
 
Phillips led the Prairie Wolves with 15 points, hitting 7-9 at the free throw line.  She also had a team-high six steals.  Carly Bostock was 6-8 from the field to score 14 points before fouling out.  Navratil was the other player in double figures at 13 points, but she made only 6-24 shot attempts.  She also led the team with seven rebounds and had five assists.
 
NWU is right back on the court Saturday to face Saint Mary's at 1 pm.