Sophomore guard Elizabeth Dufrane capped an astounding comeback with a three pointer in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime, but fifth-ranked Smith answered with a three point buzzer beater at the end of overtime to defeat the University of Mary Washington, 68-65, in the sectional semifinals of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday night in Northampton, Mass.
The Eagles trailed early, and faced a 22-9 deficit at the end of the first quarter. Smith opened on a 14-2 run across te frist five minutes of the game, and led, 20-5, with 2:01 remaining in the first. But baskets from Keagan Schwab and Molly Sharman closed the gap to 22-9, and the Eagles settled in.
In the second, the teams played evenly, but with the big head start gained in the first, Smith was able to mantain a safe margin, and led, 40-24, at halftime. The third quarter remained close, with UMW carrying a 13-12 advantage, setting up one of the most memorable fourth quarters in recent memory.
Trailing by 15 to start the period, Schwab kickstarted an offensive burst with a jumper, and a three pointer from senior Ashley Martin and a three point play from Sharman trimmed the deficit to 56-45 with 6:22 left. Two baskets from junior Sydney Sherman and another from junior Jordan Carpenter trimmed the score to 56-52 with 2:58 to go. Sherman connected for another basket to pull the Eagles to within two, but a free throw from Smith with 12 seconds left gave the hosts a three-point lead.
Enter Dufrane, who entered the game and buried a three pointer to tie the score with three seconds left, eventually sending the game to overtime. When the dust settled, the Eagles outscored Smith, 20-5, in the fourth quarter, and UMW's hopes were still alive.
In overtime, UMW grabbed the lead with a Carpenter free throw, but Smith answered with five straight points, and led, 62-58, with 3:06 left. Carpenter added another free throw, and Sharman followed with a layup to pull the Eagles back to within one with 2:25 to go.
With 1:45 left, Sherman hit a jumper to give the Eagles the lead once more, but a free throw and layup returned the lead to the hosts, 65-63, with 1:05 remaining. Carpenter was fouled on an offensive rebound with 13 seconds left, and buried both free throws to tie the score once more. Smith hit a three from the top of the arc as time expired for the game winner.
Sharman led the Eagles with 16 points off the bench, while Schwab scored 11 and Martin and Sherman each scored 10. Carpenter posted eight points and eight rebounds.
UMW shot 39.1% from the field (25-64), making 4-15 three point attempts and 11-18 free throws. Smith shot 32.8% (20-61), making 6-19 three point tries and 22-28 free throws. The Eagles were outrebounded 46-29, but forced 21 turnovers.
The Eagles close their season with a 24-7 record, having advanced to the sweet 16 for the fifth time.