Winchester, Va. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland women's basketball team played in their second overtime contest in six days as the Seahawks dropped a 54-51 non-conference decision to the Shenandoah University Hornets Monday night.
Shenandoah outlasted the Seahawks, 8-5, in the 5:00-minute extra period after opening up the OT with a 4-0 run. Junior forward Marché Pearson (Baltimore, Md./Laurel) capped a 5-1 SMCM run to make it a 51-51 contest with 49 seconds left. SU regained a three-point margin at 0:07 before senior Joanna Murray's (Reisterstown, Md./Franklin) three-point shot with one second remaining just missed the mark.
Murray finished the night with 14 points and a season-best six rebounds to pace St. Mary's while Pearson added 12 points, four boards and one block.
St. Mary's (5-4) overcame a sluggish first half with a solid second stanza, erasing an 11-point deficit to push the Hornets against the ropes. The Seahawks, who shot a dismal 12.5% in the first 20 minutes, regrouped and improved to nearly 39% from the field to outscore Shenandoah, 33-24, in the second half.
The Hornets (5-6) headed into the locker room at halftime with a 22-13 advantage as sophomore forward Holly Chittenden (Boyds, Md.) led all players with eight points and eight caroms. Pearson was St. Mary's leader at intermission with seven points off the bench.
After a pair of free throws by Chittenden put SU up 26-15 at 18:14 of the second half, the Seahawks slowly worked to chip away at the home team's lead over the next 12 minutes. St. Mary's used a 26-14 run to claim its first leads of the contest at 5:21 and again at 3:21 as Murray, who only had one point in the first half, notched 10 points, including back-to-back jumpers for the 41-40 Seahawk lead at 3:21.
The two teams traded baskets before first-year guard Imani Heggins (Chesapeake, Va.) returned a two-point margin to the Hornets at 1:48. Murray responded for St. Mary's with her only triple of the night for a 46-45 edge at 1:27. Twenty seconds later, Chittenden made only the first of two free throws to knot the game. The two squads missed a combined four field goals in the final 51 seconds of regulation.
Junior guard Aura Payne (Glen Burnie, Md./Severn School) was a bright spot for the Seahawks on the glass as Payne grabbed 10 rebounds while junior center Myeisha Wallace (West River, Md./Southern Senior) contributed a career-high eight points and season-bests of seven boards and two blocks.
Two Hornets recorded double-doubles on the night as Chittenden finished with game-highs of 20 points and 10 caroms while junior guard Crystal Petrus (Fairfax, Va.) added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
St. Mary's will be idle for the next 12 days before returning to the court on Saturday, December 29 to face Christopher Newport University (8-0) for the second time this season. The Seahawks will host CNU at 7:00 pm.
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