LAGRANGE — The Piedmont College women's basketball team escaped with a 73-70 overtime road win over LaGrange on Wednesday night at Mariotti Gym.
The Lady Lions (17-3, 10-0 USA South) led by 17 points early in the second half before LaGrange (10-9, 4-6 USA South) mounted a furious charge, taking the lead in the final seconds before Amari Price's trip to the free throw line sent the game to overtime, where the Lady Lions prevailed thanks to clutch free throw shooting from Rachel Irby.
Price continued her superb season, scoring a career-high 28 points and dishing out six assists. Jatasia Bailey scored 17 points while Irby added 11, including a 4-of-6 showing from the free throw line.
Piedmont raced out to a 9-2 early lead in the first quarter thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Bailey and took an 18-10 lead into the second quarter.
The Lady Lions' defense tightened even more in the second period, as they held LaGrange (10-9, 4-6 USA South) to just eight points. PC's 13-2 run in the final minutes before the break gave them a 15-point edge heading into the locker room.
After Piedmont extended its lead to a game-high 17 points early in the second half, LaGrange responded with an impressive third quarter run. The Panthers were able to cut their deficit to single digits thanks to a 25-point third quarter.
LaGrange continued to gradually crawl back into the game throughout the fourth quarter. Then, in the final minute, the Panthers took their first lead of the night on Marilauren Farr's baseline jumper with seven seconds left. Piedmont answered as Price drove left and drew a foul, knocking in 1-of-2 free throws and sending the game to overtime.
Trailing by a point with under two minutes to play in overtime, HOPE FRANKLIN rebounded her own miss, made the layup, drew a foul and converted the free throw to give the Lady Lions a 67-65 lead. On their next possession, ASHLYN ELLISON's floater off the glass gave PC a 69-65 lead. Irby connected on 3-of-4 free throws in the final 13 seconds to seal the 73-70 win for Piedmont.
TURNING POINT:
- With under 10 seconds in regulation, the Lady Lions were facing their first deficit of the night. However, AMARI PRICE was able to draw a foul and converted 1-of-2 from the line to send the game into overtime, where PC prevailed.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- The USA South leader in assists, Price contributed her own offense on Wednesday night, scoring a career-high 28 points and pouring in five three-pointers. The junior from Hiram, Georgia has now made 11 three-pointers in her last two contests.
- After missing the last three games with an injury, HOPE FRANKLIN returned and was a force in the paint, grabbing 11 rebounds and scoring three of her five points late in overtime to give PC the lead for good,
NEWS AND NOTES:
- Piedmont has now won 11 straight games overall as well as 11 straight in the USA South.
- With two more wins, the team can match its 13-0 start to conference play in the 2015-16 season.
UP NEXT:
- The Lady Lions will remain on the road as they will battle Berea in Kentucky on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m.
