SEWANEE, Tenn. – Sewanee scored the final 10 points of the game, including six by
Cydney Wright and two free throws from
Faith Humphrey with 21 seconds to play, helping the Tigers to a 68-65 victory over Birmingham-Southern in women's basketball action Sunday afternoon in Birmingham, Ala.
The Panthers took a 65-58 lead with 3:30 remaining after two foul shots from Sheridan Foster, but the home team did not score the rest of the way, missing eight consecutive shots along with three turnovers and two missed free throws.
That opened the door for the Tigers, with Humphrey's layup starting the 10-0 spurt to end the contest. Wright made a layup with 1:44 to go and after two missed foul shots as well as an offensive rebound and a missed jumper from BSC, she connected on two free throws with 1:03 remaining.
Wright basket in the lane with 41 ticks on the click put Sewanee ahead for good and Birmingham-Southern posted a turnover on the other end. Humphrey's final two free throws with 21 seconds remaining provided the final margin.
The Panthers got four chances in the final 20 seconds but could not score, giving Sewanee its first conference win of the season and ending a four-game losing streak overall for the Tigers.
Humphrey led the club with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, along with seven assists while Wright added 16 and
Olivia Falvey netted 15 with five assists and
Lilly Phillips made four 3-pointers for 12 points, all in the first half.
Humphrey made the first of two 3-pointers in the first quarter to open the scoring for the Tigers and Phillips followed with a triple.
Kayla Antoine's basket tied the game at eight and Humphrey made another three on the next possession for Sewanee.
Antoine added consecutive field goals in the middle of the period and Falvey's basket put the Tigers ahead, 16-13, with 2:50 left in the quarter. Phillips made her second 3-pointer late in the period, but the Panthers tied the game at 19 with buckets from Sheraton Foster and Maya Cable.
Phillips opened the second quarter with her third triple of the half and two free throws and a layup by Wright extended the Sewanee lead to 26-19, but the Panthers scored nine of the next 11 points, including four points by DeKerriya Daniel and a 3-pointer from Lauryn Towns.
Back-to-back triples by Phillips and Humphrey late in the quarter put the Tigers ahead, 38-33, and a field goal and then an old-fashioned 3-point play from Falvey gave Sewanee a 43-37 advantage at the half.
Sewanee scored just five points in the third quarter, making 2-of-9 from the field and committing seven turnovers. Birmingham-Southern took advantage, netting the final 10 points of the period, including two baskets by Towns and a 3-point play from Foster. Summer Killin's basket in the paint in the final five seconds put the Panthers in front, 53-48.
Ajailah Ogiemwonyi's basket with 6:46 remaining in the game stretched the BSC advantage to 61-52, but Wright answered with a basket and then two foul shots at the 4:09 mark. Foster's field goal with 3:56 to play were the final points for the Panthers, setting up the 10-0 run to end the game for Sewanee.
The Tigers return home next week, hosting Oglethorpe on Friday at 6 p.m. and Berry on Sunday at 1 p.m.
