CONWAY, Ark. – Olivia Keyser's three-pointer with 1:59 to go in overtime gave the Southwestern University women's basketball team the final boost of energy needed to finish off a tightly contested affair at Hendrix College with an 81-75 on Sunday.
Keyser was one of three players on the team to record 18 points each including Ellie Ward and Emily Edwards.
With the score tied at 66-66 at the end of regulation, Southwestern (1-2) used a 15-9 overtime tally to defeat the Warriors (0-3) on their home court.
Keyser's long-range shot was preceded by Akyra Hodges' layup to give Southwestern its final lead change of the night at 70-69.
After Hendrix closed the score down to 73-71, Southwestern used key conversions on offense by Keyser and Hodges and a defensive stand from Reese Sandercock that resulted in a blocked shot and rebound all but sealed the deal on the victory.
Neither team's offense was clicking right way at the start of the game as evidenced by Hodges making a basket with 3:34 left in the opening stanza to give Southwestern the rights to say they hit double-figures first with an 11-8 advantage.
Aniyah Burke's 3-pointer and another made basket from Hodges capped off a 9-0 run that saw the Pirates go from trailing 8-7 to leading 16-8.
Madi Pierce's pair of made free throws with 1:18 left in the firt quarter ended a 4:58 scoring drought and finally giving the Warriors double-figures in scoring.
Southwestern would lead by as many as nine as 26-17 in the second quarter in an Edwards three-pointer with 5:23 to go before the halftime break.
Hendrix would go on a run close out the half and go into the locker room with a 28-26 halftime lead.
The remaining portion of the game for both teams was like watching little kids play tag on the playground as neither team seemed to want to take control of contest.
Ward finished the game with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double to go along with Edwards' 18 points and six rebounds.
Keyser and Hodges recorded 18 and 14 points, respectively, while Sandercock contributed in all facets with five points, 11 rebounds, seven blocked shots, one assist and one steal.
UP NEXT
Southwestern finishes off a quick three-game road trip on Tuesday, Nov. 15, when the Pirates travel to Howard Payne University for a 5:30 p.m. CST tipoff.
