Sally O'Donnell Nets 19 Points for WC

WESTMINSTER, MD – Host McDaniel College got a game-high 22 points from Katelyn Fischer as the Green Terror rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat visiting Washington College, 76-74, in overtime on Saturday afternoon in Centennial Conference women's basketball action at the Gill Center. The Green Terror improved to 12-4 overall and 10-2 in conference play with the win, while the Shorewomen drop to 6-11 and 4-8 with the loss.

The two teams enter overtime tied at 65-65. Fischer scored the opening hoop of the extra session on a transition layup just 11 seconds in to put the hosts up 67-65. Sophomore guard Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) tied the game back up at 67-67 with 3:43 to go on a layup and freshman guard Maggie King (Kensington, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) put the Shorewomen up 70-67 with 2:54 to go in the extra session on a three-pointer. McDaniel's Ali Moreland cut the WC lead to 70-69 on a jumper with 2:24 left. Tait gave the Shorewomen a three-point lead at 72-69 on a field goal with 1:37 to go. Moreland trimmed the visitors' lead to one again at 72-71 on a layup with 1:20 left. After a WC miss, Moreland scored her third straight hoop to put the Green Terror up 73-72 with 42 ticks left. Washington recaptured the lead at 74-73 with 30 seconds to go on a layup by sophomore guard/forward Sally O'Donnell (Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) with Tait chalking up the assist. On McDaniel's next trip down the floor, Moreland drew the foul and drained both from the free throw line to put the Green Terror up 75-74 with 19 seconds left. WC had a chance to regain the lead the the shot was blocked by Ashley Lyles and she grabbed the rebound. Lyles was fouled on the play and hit one of two from the charity stripe to put McDaniel up 76-74 with five seconds left. Washington could not tie it on its last chance and the Green Terror hold on for their 12th straight win.

Washington took its biggest lead of the game at 48-34 with 18:08 to go in the second half following two free throws by Tait. McDaniel began its rally on its next possession when Moreland canned a three to cut the lead to 48-37. The Green Terror cut the deficit to 48-41 with 15:41 to go on a Moreland jumper. The Shorewomen scored the next seven points to lead 55-41, the second time WC led by 14 in the game, with 13:03 left in regulation following a triple by Sally O'Donnell.

The Shorewomen led 57-46 with 11:27 to go when the Green Terror went on a 9-0 run to cut the guests' lead to two points at 57-55 with 6:15 remaining on a fast-break layup by Sally Grace. Washington scored five of the next seven points to lead 62-57 with 4:36 left on a pair of free throws by freshman center Erin Kile (Benton, PA/Benton). Grace would connect on a trifecta to reduce the WC lead to 62-60 with 3:53 remaining in regulation. McDaniel would tie the game for the first time since it was 2-2 in the first half on a Fischer second chance layup with 2:36 left in the second half to knot the game at 62-62. Fischer would give the Green Terror their first lead of the game with 64 seconds left in the second on a layup to put the hosts up 64-62. Washington would recapture the lead, 65-64, on a conventional three-point play with 24 seconds left when senior forward Julie Sherwood (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Warde) scored on a layup, drew the foul and hit the free throw to put the Shorewomen up one point. On the next possession, Lyles drew the foul and hit one of two from the line to even the contest at 65-65. WC had the last shot of regulation, but the shot went off the mark and would go to overtime.

In the first half, Washington led 10-9 with 13:45 to go in the first half when the Shorewomen hit McDaniel with a 10-2 run to take a 20-11 lead with 11:17 to go in the first half on a layup by Tait. The Green Terror countered with a 12-6 run to cut the Shorewomen's lead to three at 26-23 with 6:37 left in the opening 20 minutes of a fast-break layup by Fischer. The Shorewomen closed out the first half on a 15-8 run to take a 41-31 lead into halftime. Tait closed out the scoring with a layup with 48 ticks left in the stanza. During the first half, WC canned seven three-pointers, including five by senior guard Jane O'Donnell (Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic). Her fifth tray with 2:16 left in the half tied her for the all-time mark in three pointers made with 233, tying Katie Piringer '04.

For McDaniel, Moreland scored 19 points, including eight in the extra session, while Lyles netted a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Fischer led the team in assists as she dished out five in the win. The Green Terror shot 44% from the floor and 75% from the line, going 15-for-20 from the charity stripe. McDaniel had a 48-31 edge on the boards.

For Washington, Sally O'Donnell scored 19 points to lead the way for the visitors, while her sister, Jane O'Donnell chalked up 17 points. Tait scored 15 points and led all players with six assists. Washington shot 41% from the floor and 77% from the chairty stripe, hitting 10-of-13 from the line. Washington had three fewer turnovers than McDaniel, 23-20.

McDaniel held the edge in second chance points (16-10) and fast-break points (12-2), while Washington held the edge in points off turnovers (22-14) and bench points (20-12). Both teams had 28 points in the paint.

The Shorewomen return to action Wednesday with a 6:00 p.m. Centennial Conference contest at Ursinus.