SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – For the second time in three games, the Edgewood College women's basketball team found themselves trailing late, but both times the Eagles were able to come away with a win. Alison Tobin scored Edgewood College's final eight points of the game including two free throws with 7.8 seconds left to edge Lakeland College at Woltzen Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
Down by one with 32 seconds remaining, a Lakeland foul put Tobin at the line. The senior forward sank both, giving the Eagles a one point lead, but the Muskies still had plenty of time. On the perusing possession, Lakeland headed to the line with 28 seconds but only converted one of them, tying the game at 64. Edgewood College called a timeout to set up a play and after a missed layup, Tobin snagged her eighth offensive board of the night when she was fouled, again sending her to the charity stripe. With seven seconds on the clock, Tobin proved she had ice in her veins after nailing both attempts. Sill with time on the clock, the Muskies had one last chance but the Eagles defense held Lakeland to an off balance three-pointer that caromed off the rim.
To get to the thrilling finish, Edgewood College (7-8, 6-2) had to fight back from a 10-point deficit late in the first half. The Eagles did not score a field goal in the last 2:20 of the first half, but were able to cut the Muskies' lead to five after tough defense and three free throws.
The Eagles vastly improved from the first half to the second, only giving up five turnovers to 11 before the break. Edgewood College only converted 29.6 percent of their shots from the field and did not hit a single three while allowing Lakeland (7-9, 5-4 NAC) to cash in on 44.4 percent of their attempts. In the second half, the Eagles improved to 42.9 percent from the field including shooting 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Edgewood College had a season-high 15 steals while forcing 22 Lakeland turnovers and limited the Muskies to 18.5 percent (5-for-27) from beyond the arc. The Eagles also outrebounded Lakeland 43-35 including 21-12 offensively.
Tobin posted her third double-double of the season as she poured in 20 points to lead the Eagles while also grabbing a season-high 14 rebounds. Mariah Hill and Melanie Walker also finished in double figures with 12 and 10, respectively. Overshadowed by Walker's stat line of five rebounds and a season-high six assists was her hustle and tenacity on defense.
This season, Edgewood College is 7-0 when they score 60 or more points, but 0-8 when they fail to score at least 60. The Eagles were 16-for-24 from the free throw line, which was a big reason why they pulled out the victory.
The Eagles will look to extend their winning streak to four games when they host Maranatha Baptist this Thursday at the Edgedome. Live stats and live video will be available. The links for this coverage can be found atEdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.