Providence, R.I.-Sophomore guard Alex Moore (West Newbury, MA) scored a career-high 35 points, including a half-court shot as time expired to send the game to overtime, to lead the Rhode Island College women's basketball team to an 87-76 victory over Connecticut College at The Murray Center on Thursday night.
The Anchorwomen (5-11) opened a 21-10 lead when junior forward Devin Hill (Danielson, CT) buried a three-pointer with 9:47 left in the half. The Camels (12-4) cut the lead down to two, 24-22, when senior guard Kaitlyn Cresencia (New Providence, NJ) hit one of two free throws with 3:21 remaining. A late three-ball by Moore extended the RIC lead to eight, but a layup by Connecticut College freshman forward Mairead Hynes (Mahopac, NY) cut the lead down to six, 31-25, entering the half.
The second half saw RIC open up an eight point lead, 48-39, when freshman guard Jess Korzec (West Brookfield, MA) finished in the paint off a feed from Moore. The Camels battled back, cutting the lead down to two points on multiple occasions, before taking their first lead late on a layup by junior center Jenna Lovett (Tolland, CT). A three-point play by Hynes pushed the Camels advantage to five, 66-61, with just 2:33 remaining. A layup from the Camels with 1.4 seconds remaining set the stage for Moore's heroics as she took the inbounds pass, bolted up the sideline and banked in a half-court heave as time expired to knot the game at 70 and send it in to overtime.
The extra session saw the Anchorwomen go to Hill often as she scored the first six points of the frame and pushed the RIC lead up to five, 76-71, with 2:29 left. Cresencia cut the lead to three on the next possession, but RIC hit 9-of-11 free throws down the stretch to take the 87-76 victory.
Moore scored her career-high 35 points on 11-for-20 shooting from the field, going 6-for-10 from downtown and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. Hill notched a double-double for the Anchorwomen with 17 points and 12 boards, while Korzec scored 20 points, notched nine boards, dished out seven assists and swiped five steals. The Anchorwomen shot 41.8 percent (28-for-67) from the field, 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from downtown and 71.9 percent (23-for-32) from the charity stripe for the game.
Hynes was dominant for Conn. College, finishing with a game-high 36 points to go along with 17 rebounds. Sophomore guard Liz Malman (Mendham, NJ) finished with 14 points and three steals for the Camels. The visitors shot 39.3 percent from the floor (24-for-61) and 71.9 percent from the free throw line (23-for-32), while shooting 38.5 percent (5-for-13) from downtown.
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will resume Little East Conference action at Eastern Connecticut on Saturday, Jan. 24 (1 p.m.).