Box Score

By Jim O'Hara

ROME, Ga. – The Shorter Lady Hawks made sure they connected on the right shots to give themselves a chance, but when they needed a basket the most twice they couldn't come up with it as visiting Christian Brothers hit a shot at the buzzer in overtime to hand Shorter a 63-61 Gulf South Conference defeat Thursday night at the Winthrop-King Centre.

The setback gives the Lady Hawks, who were wearing pink uniforms as part of February's "Think Pink" initiative, a 5-14 overall record and a 3-9 conference slate heading into a GSC showdown Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when they host No. 12-ranked Delta State.

Shorter kept pace with Christian Brothers, who held a 23-22 halftime lead, for the entire game and down the stretch started to find the right groove thanks to Ieshia Alexander, who connected for 15 second half points on her way to a game-high 22 points.

Alexander gave Shorter a 53-52 lead with 1:59 to play when she came up with a steal, went the length of the court to score on a layup where she was fouled and converted the traditional three-point play.

After a defensive stop, the Lady Hawks added to their lead with 1:30 remaining when Kristin Nash hit a short jumper in the lane to make it 55-52 but after Shorter turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation CBU (12-7, 8-5) knotted the game up when Samantha Reeves canned a three-pointer from the top of the key with 22 second left in regulation.

The Lady Hawks had one last chance to notch the win but Karisma's Boykin's shot went wide of the mark as the buzzer sounds.

As was the case in the opening 40 minutes, the five minutes of overtime continued the back-and-forth pace between the teams.

With 1:50 to go in the extra period, Alexander hit a pair of foul shots to give Shorter a 61-59 edge with the Lady Bucs answering it with 60 ticks of the clock left when Emily Reeves nailed a pair of free throws of her own to create the final deadlock of the night, 61-61.

The Lady Hawks again had the ball as time wound down but again could not get off a shot before the 30-second clock expired. After calling a time out with 13.7 seconds showing, Christian Brothers' Erica Burgess found herself open at the charity stripe to hit the game-winning jumper as time expired.

Joining Alexander in double figures for the Lady Hawks was Lynette Harris, who had 14 points, and Nash, who added 13. Boykin finished the game with eight points and nine rebounds.

Samantha Reeves paced CBU with 19 points, Burgess had 15 and Breanna Ridgell finished with 13.

The setback gives the Lady Hawks, who were wearing pink uniforms as part of February's "Think Pink" initiative, a 5-14 overall record and a 3-9 conference slate heading into a GSC showdown Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when they host No. 12-ranked Delta State.

Shorter kept pace with Christian Brothers, who held a 23-22 halftime lead, for the entire game and down the stretch started to find the right groove thanks to Ieshia Alexander, who connected for 15 second half points on her way to a game-high 22 points.

Alexander gave Shorter a 53-52 lead with 1:59 to play when she came up with a steal, went the length of the court to score on a layup where she was fouled and converted the traditional three-point play.

After a defensive stop, the Lady Hawks added to their lead with 1:30 remaining when Kristin Nash hit a short jumper in the lane to make it 55-52 but after Shorter turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation CBU (12-7, 8-5) knotted the game up when Samantha Reeves canned a three-pointer from the top of the key with 22 second left in regulation.

The Lady Hawks had one last chance to notch the win but Karisma's Boykin's shot went wide of the mark as the buzzer sounds.

As was the case in the opening 40 minutes, the five minutes of overtime continued the back-and-forth pace between the teams.

With 1:50 to go in the extra period, Alexander hit a pair of foul shots to give Shorter a 61-59 edge with the Lady Bucs answering it with 60 ticks of the clock left when Emily Reeves nailed a pair of free throws of her own to create the final deadlock of the night, 61-61.

The Lady Hawks again had the ball as time wound down but again could not get off a shot before the 30-second clock expired. After calling a time out with 13.7 seconds showing, Christian Brothers' Erica Burgess found herself open at the charity stripe to hit the game-winning jumper as time expired.

Joining Alexander in double figures for the Lady Hawks was Lynette Harris, who had 14 points, and Nash, who added 13. Boykin finished the game with eight points and nine rebounds.

Samantha Reeves paced CBU with 19 points, Burgess had 15 and Breanna Ridgell finished with 13.