RICHMOND – The Earlham College women's basketball team recorded its first win of the 2021-22 season in thrilling fashion with an 87-82 overtime win. The Quakers defeated Mount St. Joseph University in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action in Druley Performance Gym.
Bonita Washington ('72) was honored during pregame as part of black history month celebrations. Washington participated in field hockey, basketball and softball at Earlham and currently serves as vice president of student life and dean of students.
The Quakers improved to 1-18 (1-11 HCAC) while the Lions fell to 7-13 (4-9 HCAC).
Alexis Gibson and
Megan Helmkamp led the Quaker scoring effort with 17 while
Neely Trenshaw,
Amari Bradford and
Janaiya Bright all reached double-digit points.
Gibson grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and three steals on the afternoon and Bright brought down 10 boards.
The Quakers enacted a full-court press for much of the game which resulted in 18 caused turnovers and 18 points off of those turnovers.
Despite keeping the score close in the opening minutes, the Quakers fell behind in the middle of the first quarter. A 12-2 run for MSJ gave the visitors a 17-9 lead with 3:26 remaining in the quarter.
The Quakers recovered some of the deficit, but trailed 21-15 after the first frame.
Earlham started the second quarter with an explosive 19-2 run through the opening five minutes. Helmkamp recorded two 3-pointers in the stretch and Bradford scored seven points.
The Quakers shot at a 52% clip during the quarter while holding the Lions to just nine points in the frame.
Earlham stretched its lead out to 51-36in the third quarter before an 11-2 run for MSJ pulled the Lions back into contention.
A pair of 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter gave the visitors the lead at the 8:17 mark of the fourth quarter. The teams then traded blows until becoming tied at 63 with just over seven minutes to play.
Both teams struggled to score down the stretch but Earlham had managed to gain a four-point lead off of accurate free throw shooting heading in to the final two minutes.
Despite the lead, the Lions shot four free throws in the final two minutes to level the score at 71 with 54 seconds on the clock.
Earlham had three opportunities in the final minute to win the game but could not get a shot to land. The Quakers did well at preventing the Lions from scoring though as they collected an offensive rebound and a turnover on defense to keep the tie and force overtime.
The overtime period began with a missed 3-pointer for the Lions that went the other way for a Helmkamp 3-pointer.
After both teams missed on their next possession, MSJ scored a free throw and Trenshaw hit a 3-pointer to give the Quakers a 77-72 lead.
The Lions responded with consecutive 3-pointers to take a 78-77 lead.
Earlham then scored a 6-0 run that was kicked off by a Gibson 3-pointer and backed up by Bright.
As Mount St. Joseph fouled in the final seconds to stop the clock, the Quakers shot accurate enough free throws to sustain the lead and were victorious in the 2021-22 season.
Earlham continues action on Tuesday with its final away game of the season at Defiance. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 pm.
