Candace Smith scored the go ahead basket with 1.9 seconds left.
LAKE WALES, Fla. – Candace Smith nailed a turnaround jumper with seconds left to lift the Lady Royals to victory, 79-77, in overtime over Ave Maria University on Friday night. The Lady Royals (11-14, 6-4 TSC) move into a two way tie with the Gyrenes (16-7, 6-3 TSC) for third place in The Sun Conference standings.
The Lady Royals held the early advantage over the visiting Gyrenes leading by as many as five over the first 10 minutes of the half. The Sun Conference Player of the Week Sammie Clark scored six of Warner’s first 12 points. The Gyrenes took their first lead of the game, 22-20, at the 5:59 mark after the two teams hooked up for three ties over the previous five minutes. Allison Porter tied the game for the fourth time in the half on the Lady Royals’ next possession, but the Gyrenes rode an 11-4 run the rest of the way and went into halftime leading 33-26.
The Gyrenes maintained their lead over the Lady Royals coming out of halftime. Candace Smith brought the game to within one point after a pair of free throws with 14:59 remaining but it was a three pointer four minutes later that tied things at 45-45. Sammie Clark gave the Lady Royals their first lead of the second half nailing two free throws of her own at the 11:17 mark.
The two squads exchanged the lead five times down the stretch, neither team creating more than five points of separation. Then with just over a minute left in regulation and the Gyrenes nursing a five point lead, 67-62, Tracy Gentry started the rally draining a three pointer cutting the deficit to two. The two sides traded buckets on their ensuing possessions and following a Gentry foul, Tamica Moore pushed the lead to four with two free throws.
Clark continued to play her best under pressure, scoring a layup to narrow the Gyrene lead 69-71 with less than 30 seconds left. The Lady Royals had possession with only seconds left when Candace Smith found Clark under the basket who laid it in tying the game, 71-71. Ave Maria had the final possession but there was no time left to get off a shot.
The Gyrenes wasted no time in the first overtime period, leading 77-71 after two minutes of play. The Lady Royals were 0-5 from the field to start the extra frame. Shawnelle Campbell brought Warner back scoring five straight points following a Stephanie Wills free throw to tie the game, 77-77. On the Gyrenes’ next possession Clark made the play of the game to that point taking a charge from Sandy Jenkins giving the Lady Royals the ball with under 10 seconds to play.
As the Lady Royals tried to find an open look to win the game, Candace Smith took a Shawnelle Campbell pass and drained a turnaround jumper leaving only 1.9 seconds on the clock. The Gyrenes last second effort fell short giving the Lady Royals the victory, 79-77, avenging their earlier season defeat to Ave Maria.
Head coach Matt Murphy got big play out of his seniors, “Both Sammie and Candace played huge in crunch time. Sammie took the charge that changed the momentum and Candace made the shot to win the game.” Coach Murphy was also impressed with the play of junior Shawnelle Campbell, “Shawnelle was a spark for us in the second half. Her aggressive play helped swing the momentum our way.”
Four starters scored in double-digits for the Lady Royals. Sammie Clark finished her night with game high 20 points and 14 rebounds. Shawnelle Campbell also had 20 points with a game high nine assists and seven rebounds. Candace Smith, who had the game winning shot, totaled 14 points in the victory while Stephanie Wills added 10 points of her own.
The Gyrenes finished with five players in double digits led by Tamica Moore with 19. Amy Myler and Cassie Kreiger each had 14 points in the loss.
The Lady Royals will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when they play host to Florida Memorial University. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. with a men’s basketball game set to follow at 7 p.m. against Webber International University.