This time, the nationally-ranked Hope College women's basketball team delivered the clutch play needed to fend off a hard-charging opponent.
Behind Terin Maynard's hounding ball pressure and a Leah Richards blocked shot in the closing seconds, the Flying Dutch held on for a 68-65 victory against the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse on Tuesday at DeVos Fieldhouse.
Hope (4-2) bounced back from an overtime loss at home on Saturday where nationally-ranked Carroll University (Wisconsin) rallied from eight points down late to force overtime. The loss dropped the Flying Dutch to 19th in this week's D3hoops.com poll and to just outside the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25.
The dramatic win prevented Hope from losing back-to-back games since the end of the 2016-17 season. Head coach Brian Morehouse experienced a familiar feeling on Tuesday but felt Hope was prepared to rise to the occasion.
"We did lose our last game. We did have an eight-point lead. We did have an eight-point lead with two minutes to go. At least for the Coach, it was a deja vu," Morehouse said. "I had a better feel for them this time. I think I supported them a lot better as a coach. I gave them things they could run.
"We coached them better. They received coaching better. I think when that happens you can have growth. We're a veteran team. We have seniors, juniors and sophomores who played a lot of minutes. As much as I didn't think they played that way Saturday at times in that whole game. I think our veterans did a nice job executing down the stretch."
Wisconsin-LaCrosse (4-2) threatened to repeat the feat after senior guard Jada Garner (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow) put the Flying Dutch ahead 68-58 with two free throws 2 minutes, 10 seconds remaining.
Two Hope turnovers and a missed layup gave Wisconsin-LaCrosse a chance to tie the game with 26 seconds remaining.
Following a timeout, Wisconsin-LaCrosse inbounded the ball at halfcourt. Maynard (Jenison, Michigan / Jenison HS) defended point guard Katie Waukau at the top of the key and made her give up the ball.
Leah Richards (DeWitt, Michigan (DeWitt, Michigan / Lansing Catholic) stopped out to block a 3-point attempt from Ali Sprangers. Grace Knupp grabbed the offensive rebound in front of her bench but her shot came off after time expired.
Freshman Anna Richards (DeWitt, Michigan (DeWitt, Michigan / Lansing Catholic) scored a game-high 18 points off the bench. In 27 minutes, Richards shot 70% from the floor (7-10), including two of the Flying Dutch's six 3-pointers.
Three Hope players chipped in nine points apiece: Garner, senior Olivia Bellows (Lake City, Michigan / Lake City) and junior Sydney Vis (Byron Center, Michigan / South Christian).
Leah Richards added eight points and eight rebounds. Senior Courtney Lee (Fishers, Indiana / Heritage Christian) also pulled down eight rebounds.
Lauryn Milne led three from Wisconsin-LaCrosse in double figures with 16 points. Milne buried four 3-pointers.
Hope's next game is Saturday, Nov. 30, at 3 p.m. against another team from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.