Lions Win Thriller in Double-Overtime

MARS HILL, N.C. – Ansley Ricker scored eight of her team high 24 points in the second overtime period to lead Mars Hill to a 91-85 victory over Pfeiffer University Saturday afternoon in Stanford Arena. The Lions improved to 1-1 on the season while the Falcons fells to 0-3 on the year.

Ricker added seven rebounds and four assists in the win playing 45-of-50 possible minutes. Hannah Hayes came off the bench to score a career high 22 points. Genice Lane also came off the bench to add a career high 20 points. Both freshmen pulled down five rebounds apiece. Kelsey Espinosa rounded out the double-figure scorers for MHU with 13 points including 10 boards. The teams combined for 72 free throw attempts and 59 combined fouls.

The Lions did not shoot well in the game hitting only 36.2% (25-69) of their shots from the floor. Mars Hill was 0-7 from 3-point range in the first half and 4-19 (21.1%) for the game. MHU won the battle of the boards, 46-41 and forced 28 Falcon turnovers that resulted in 23 Lion points. MHU received 49 points from their bench in the victory. The Lions nailed 84.6% (22-26) of their free throw attempts.

Carter Williams led all scorers with 27 points as she played the entire game (50 minutes). She was 12-12 at the charity stripe and recorded five rebounds, two assists and the same number of steals. Vivian Doerr scored nine points and pulled down a game high 13 rebounds in the loss. Carlisha Holivay and Amy Steller scored 12 points apiece while Hollie Boggs tallied 10 points. The Falcons hit 44.4% (25-69) from the field, 21.1% (4-19) and 80.4% (37-46) from the foul line.

After Hannah Hayes tied the game at 10-all (13:37) at the foul line, MHU went on a 13-1 run to lead 23-11 with 8:17 left in the half after Genice Lane hit a shot in the paint. The Falcons closed out the first frame on a 30-14 run to take a 41-37 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

Pfeiffer led for 19:57 of the second half until Ricker hit a 3-pointer with three ticks left in regulation to tie the contest at 68-68. A half court desperation shot by the Falcons fell short and the team were sent into their first overtime period.

After another closely played period, Amy Steller hit a shot from behind the arc to give the Falcons a two-point lead (76-74) with 45 seconds on the clock. On the Lions' next possession Genice Lane was fouled inside and calmly sank a pair of shots at the charity stripe with 31 seconds left to send the game into the second extra period. Solid defense by the Lions did not allow the Falcons to get a shot off in their final possession for the first overtime period.

After Doerr tied the game at 78-all, Ricker gave the Lions the lead for good at the 3:13 mark by hitting a pair of foul shots. Ricker went on to score six more points in the stanza to seal the win for the Lions.

Mars Hill will host SAC rival Lincoln Memorial University on Wednesday to open conference play. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.