Fire WBB Wins Marathon Battle at Embry-Riddle
Donnie Smith
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.- Regulation wasn’t enough to decide a winner between Southeastern and Embry-Riddle on Thursday night.
Nor were four overtime periods.
In the longest women’s basketball game in NAIA history, the Fire knocked off the host Eagles 96-91 in quintuple overtime.
With 2:20 left in regulation, Embry-Riddle (14-10, 6-8 TSC) led 56-52 after a layup by Mercedes Jorge. Fire senior Hannah Demarest went on a 4-0 run, connecting on a pair of free throws with 1:51 left, then converted a layup with 1:09 left to tie the game at 56. The Eagles had two shots in the final minute of the second half, but neither fell.
The Fire (22-5, 13-2 TSC) led in the first overtime 60-58 with 1:07 left, but a pair of free throws by Tara Fields tied the game with 50 seconds left. Both teams missed layups in the final 50 seconds of the first extra session, sending it to a second.
A layup by Jorge with 1:44 left in the second overtime gave ERAU a 67-66 lead. It looked as if that might hold up after the Fire turned the ball over with 1:08 left, but a quick shot and a miss by the Eagles put the Fire back into the game. Demarest split a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left to knot the game at 67. The Eagles had a chance to end the game, but missed a layup with two seconds left to send the game to a third overtime.
Sabrina Whiting put the Eagles up 72-70 in the third OT with 2:13 left on a 3-pointer, but Demarest answered with a jumper in the lane with 1:48 left to tie the game at 72. Whiting dialed in another 3-ball with 1:27 left to give the Eagles the lead, but Demarest came back to the other end of the court and drained her first 3-pointer of the season to knot the game at 75.
In the fourth overtime, the Fire held an 83-81 lead with 11 seconds to go, but Whiting connected on a jumper in the lane with two seconds left to force a fifth extra session.
The hosts led in the fifth overtime 87-86 with 2:56 left on a layup by Mercedes Jorge, but a 10-4 run by the Fire finally closed out the contest. Demarest connected on two free throws with 2:35 left to put the Fire up for good.
Carlie Newman and Alyssa Ramos both played 61 of a possible 65 minutes. Newman scored a team-high 25 points, and collected 15 rebounds. Ramos added 24 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Demarest also had a double-double off the bench with 14 points and tied for the game-high with 16 rebounds.
Southeastern returns to action on Saturday as it hosts Ave Maria at 2 p.m.