BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Presbyterian College women's
basketball team erased a 21-point halftime deficit to force overtime and knock
off the Campbell Camels on Saturday afternoon to move to 4-0 in the Big South
Conference, 68-62.
PC improves to 9-6 overall and 4-0 in league action,
extending its record Big South start. Campbell moves to 10-4 and 2-1 in Big
South play. The Blue Hose return to action on Thursday night with a home
contest against Longwood at 7 p.m.
Down 40-19 at halftime, PC shot 70.6 percent (12-for-17) in the second
half to outscore the home side 37-16 in the period and 12-6 in overtime. The
Blue Hose trailed by 16 with 7:57 left in regulation and finished the second
half on an 18-2 run to force the bonus period.
Senior Dria David (Lawrenceville, Ga.) sunk a free throw
with 1.6 seconds left to send the game into overtime and scored eight straight
points to reverse a 62-60 overtime deficit and seal the victory. David also
dished out a career-high nine assists (the second-most in PC's Division I
history) and led the team in rebounds, with seven. She finished with 16 points.
Campbell's Zena Lovette could have given the Camels a
three-point lead with seven seconds remaining in regulation, but her first shot
of a bonus free throw bounced off the rim. David stole the offensive rebound
from Lovette and took a foul to go to the line. She made the first shot before
missing the second, setting up her and PC's overtime heroics.
The Camels' Monique Spry hit two three-pointers early in the
bonus period, putting Campbell up by two after 1:55 despite four points from
Noelle Carter (Neptune, N.J.) and Pietrowski. From there, however, David took
over. Her two layups and four made free-throws would stand as the only points
either team would score as PC took the 68-62 victory.
Redshirt freshman Kasey Hobbie (Spring Lake, N.J.) delivered
a career day. Hobbie scored 20 points thanks to five three-pointers in the
second half that helped close the gap and keep the Blue Hose in striking
distance. Her six three-pointers on the afternoon tie the most scored in a
Division I game for PC. Hobbie also grabbed a crucial steal early in overtime
that led to two points.
Mariah Pietrowski (Elizabethton, Tenn.) also came through in
a big way in her 100th career game, going 7-from-9 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line
to post 20 points. She tallied 12 of those points in the second half while
collecting six rebounds on the afternoon.
Kiera Gaines led Campbell with 14 points and seven assists.
After Campbell shot 53.3 percent in the first half
(16-for-30), the Blue Hose held the Camels to 20.7 percent shooting in the
second half (6-for-29) and did not allow a field goal during a span of 6:53 that
ended 21 seconds into overtime.
With PC trailing by 19 early in the second half, Hobbie
knocked down a trey to spark a 12-point run that saw scores from Devin
Fothergill (Somerset, Ky.), Pietrowski and Hobbie. Fothergill handed out six
assists for the second straight game.
Campbell responded with three straight three-pointers to go up 16 but
would score only once more in the final 7:57. Hobbie drained three shots from
outside the arc and Pietrowski proved reliable at the free-throw line,
converting six consecutive foul shots to get PC within one before Lovette's
miss.
Down 41-19 at the half, PC came out of the halftime break re-energized to the tune
of a 7-0 run to start the period. Pietrowski scored the first four points
before Carter and David followed with scores to put PC
in position for the final rally.
The Blue Hose battled tough early in the first half, as Shonda Burnside (Gray Court, S.C.) scored five points early to give the Blue Hose a 10-9 lead seven
minutes into the contest. From there, however, the Camels closed the half on a
31-9 run that saw the home side go on a 24-2 stretch.
Five straight points from Hobbie and Pietrowski attempted to
narrow the gap, but Campbell took a 40-19 advantage into halftime.
Burnside provided a defensive presence in the post by
swatting three blocks on the day.
