Orr’s Last-Second Three Pushes Kenyon to the Brink in Double-Overtime Thriller

WOOSTER, Ohio – An overtime-forcing 3-pointer from Kenyon College's Paige Matijasich was answered by The College of Wooster first-year Kylie Orr five minutes later, as the Fighting Scot guard – with her team down 64-61 with two seconds left in the first overtime – connected on a corner three to force double overtime, but the Ladies closed with 16-straight points to triumph over Wooster, 80-65, on Wednesday evening at Timken Gymnasium.

It was a collective scoring effort from Kenyon (13-5, 7-2 North Coast Athletic Conference), as six Ladies scored in double figures, led by Miranda Diesz's double-double performance of 13 points on 11 shots to go along with 10 rebounds. Bailey Dominguez followed with 11 points and four others finished with 10 each.

For Wooster (1-16, 0-8 NCAC), junior Aki Shurelds led the Scots' scoring effort with a game-high 14 points on 12 shots, including 3-for-6 from three-point range. Sophomores Anna Gibbs (13) and Christina Vukovich (11) marked the remaining Scots in double-digit scoring. Vukovich and first-year Akwia Tilton pulled down a team-best six rebounds while Gibbs, first-year Cat Fiorito and senior Rachel Collins each recorded three steals.

Shurelds commenced the game's scoring with five straight points as part of an opening 8-0 Wooster run. The Scots, who never trailed in the opening stanza, capitalized on that fast start to take a 19-13 lead by the end of the first period.

In the second, Kenyon came out on a 7-0 run as 3-pointers from Dominguez and Sidney Cera bookended a layup from Lane Davis, drawing the Ladies ahead, 21-19, at the 8:03 mark. After back-and-forth scoring exchanges, Gibbs and senior guard Danielle Besancon combined for the Scots' final eight points of the half as Wooster led 32-28 going into the break.

Fiorito tallied seven of her eight total points in the opening 20 minutes, going 3-for-5 from the floor, while the Scots as a whole finished the half 11-for-23 (47.8 percent), including 5-for-10 from beyond the arc.

Cold shooting struck both sides in the third period, with Wooster going 3-for-12, compared to Kenyon's 4-for-14, as the Scots rode a 10-9 scoring edge for a 42-37 advantage heading into the fourth.

In the final 10 minutes of regulation, Tilton opened the scoring with a layup 20 ticks in, but an 8-0 Ladies' run brought Kenyon ahead, 45-44, with 6:46 left to play. A made free-throw from Gibbs and a 3-pointer from Tilton shifted the momentum back the Scots' way, but Dominguez answered with a three of her own to spark a mini 5-0 run and regain a 50-48 lead with 4:44 remaining.

Then, layups from Shurelds and Vukovich sandwiched a layup from Dominguez to tie it at 52. Vukovich later connected on two free throws to push the lead to two (54-52), and in an attempt at a pull-up 3-pointer, Gibbs earned three trips to the foul line, connecting on all three to stretch the Scots' lead to five (57-52) with 1:13 left.

Again, Dominguez answered with a clutch 3-pointer, drawing the Ladies within two with 1:13 left to play. After a made free throw from Shurelds stretched the Wooster lead to three (58-55), the Ladies, granted with the final shot and no shot clock, turned to Matijasich, who connected on a corner three – her only made attempt of the game – to force overtime, tied at 58.

Vukovich opened extra time with a layup, followed by a made free throw from Gibbs, who split her attempts to give Wooster a 61-58 lead with 2:46 remaining. The Ladies would answer with a 6-0 run, topped off by two free throws from Cera, which gave Kenyon a 64-61 lead with two seconds left to play.

After a Wooster timeout which advanced the ball to half-court, Fiorito corralled the inbound at half-court and kicked it to the corner for Orr, who spotted up and sunk the tying 3-pointer to force double overtime.

In the second overtime, Tilton brought the Scots ahead 65-64, making the second of two attempts at the foul line, but the advantage ended there as the Ladies went on a game-closing 16-0 run to end the contest and come out with an 80-65 double-overtime win.

The Scots return to action against Hiram College (13-5, 5-4 NCAC) on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 6 p.m.