Hood Women Drop Heartbreaker in OT at Frostburg State

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FROSTBURG, Md.--Despite the first career double-double from senior Allyson Lethbridge, the Hood College women's basketball team (7-12, 2-10 CAC) came up on the short end of a 76-73 Capital Athletic Conference decision in overtime at Frostburg State University (11-10, 8-4 CAC) Wednesday evening.

Sophomore Emily Maerz drilled a three-pointer with 30 seconds left in the overtime session which pulled the Blazers to within one, 74-73. After a pair of Hood timeouts, the Bobcats worked the ball around to Stephanie Straka, whose jumper was off the mark and Lethbridge came down with the defensive board with 20 seconds left. But the Blazers were unable to get a shot off in the final seconds and turned the ball back over to Frostburg with one tick remaining on the clock. Dyanna Prater fouled Elaina Hummel, who knocked down both free throws for the final margin.

The Bobcats led by as many as eight in the opening stanza but the Blazers jumped in front at the 4:17 mark on a triple by Kameran Evans and a pair of free throws by Lethbridge, making it 24-22 Hood. The Blazers clung to a narrow 29-27 lead at halftime after Prater hit 1-of-2 from the stripe.

Hood maintained the advantage for the majority of the second half, until the Bobcats knotted things up with 1:20 to play in regulation on a Mindy Sharp layup and a free throw by Mercedes White to make it 59-59.

Both teams committed turnovers on their ensuing possessions, but the Blazers got the ball back with 51 seconds left. Sharp came up with a block on Prater's attempt at the go-ahead bucket but Evans was there for the carom and was fouled. She connected on both foul shots to give the Blazers a 61-59 lead with 38 seconds left.

Frostburg called a timeout and on the ensuing play, Sharp was whistled for an offensive foul, giving the ball back to Hood with 20 seconds remaining. The Blazers burned a timeout this time but lost the ball on the inbounds, and Sharp converted the fast-break layup to tie the game for the sixth time (61-61). At the other end, Evans and Briana White both had chances to sink the game-winning shot but came up just short, sending the Blazers to their second overtime game of the season.

Lethbridge finished with team-highs of 20 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, marking the first double-double of her Blazer career. She is now a mere 12 points shy of joining Hood's 1,000-point club. White finished with 15 points and blocked four shots, while Evans buried three treys and tallied 13 points. Sevens were wild for Prater who registered seven points, seven rebounds and seven assists while playing 43 of a potential 45 minutes on the night. Hood also matched its season-high with 10 three-pointers.

Four Bobcats reached double figures, led by Hummel's 20. Frostburg moved into a tie for second place in the CAC with the win, while the Blazers suffered their fifth straight setback and remain in eighth place.

The Blazers will look to get back in the win column Saturday when they host ninth-place Stevenson University at 4 p.m. at the Odom Fitness Center. Hood defeated the Mustangs, 62-45, earlier this season on the road.