SHREVEPORT, La. - The Oklahoma City University women's basketball team beat Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 87-85 on Sunday in the LSU-Shreveport Classic at The Dock.
The game was tied 85-85 with less than 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter. OCU's Catherine Kruschke sank free throws with one second left to give the Stars the win.
The Stars and the Saints share the No. 7 spot in the NAIA Division I women's basketball rankings. OCU improved to 1-2 on the season, while OLLU slipped to 0-2.
"I'm reallyproud of the way we kept playing," said OCU head coach Bo Overton. "We were down late but made plays when we had to to win. Catherine and Daniela played very well but it was a great team win."
Kruschke recorded her second double-double in as many games with 20 points and 12 rebounds. The 6-foot center was 6-for-7 from the free-throw line and 7-for-12 from the field.
The Stars shot 18-for-24 from the charity stripe, while the Saints were 14-for-20.
Daniela Wallen, a junior from Caracas, Venezuela, led the Stars in points (29) and rebounds (13), while adding three assists.
The Stars outscored the Saints 30-19 in the fourth quarter. With 30 seconds left to play, the Saints took the lead 85-83 off a Taylor Hamilton score. Hamilton finished with 14 points, three assists and a rebound for the Saints.
Wallen hit a two-pointer with 18 seconds left to tie the game for the 11th and final time.
After a missed three-pointer by OLLU's Hamilton, LaQeisha Brown, of OLLU, committed the foul on Krushke that led to the game-winning free throws. Amanda Ingram's bucket tied the game at 75-75 with 3:58 to play. Ingram, a junior from Oklahoma City, led the Stars with five assists and added six points.
The first quarter featured four lead changes and was tied four times. Ariel Clay, of the Saints, hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first quarter to put the Saints up 21-18.
The see-saw-like battle ensued in the second quarter with two more lead changes and ties. OCU's Samantha Stallbaumer, a freshman from Haven, Kan., made a bucket in the paint to extend the Stars lead to 31-26 with 3:50 left to play in the second quarter. The Saints then went on an 11-2 run to retake the lead 37-33. An OLLU foul put Leah Cheney, a junior from Ault, Colo., at the foul line in the closing seconds of the second quarter. Cheney converted both shots to cut the Saints lead to 37-35 at the half.
Cheney tallied four points, four boards and three assists in the contest, while Stallbaumer, a 5-3 guard, finished with three points.
OLLU extended its lead to 44-35 early in the third quarter with consecutive buckets by Whitney Sandmann, Francesca Patrick, Nakia Page, respectively. Sandmann led the Saints with 16 points, while Page had 10 points and Patrick finished with eight points.
Markeisha Johnson's basket at the 4:04 mark tied the game for the seventh time at 49-49. Johnson, a senior from Mansura, La., notched 12 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Stars.
The Saints retook the lead and extended it to 11 points late in the third quarter but consecutive free throws by OCU's Wallen brought the difference to nine points at the conclusion of the quarter.
The Stars' Allison Frey, a sophomore from Mustang, Okla., hit consecutive baskets to open the fourth quarter and narrow the Saints lead to five. Frey scored 13 points and notched four boards in the contest. Frey was 3-for-7 from the 3-point territory.
Sonji Green recorded a double-double for OLLU with 14 points and 11 boards. Julia Rendon, of the Saints, had 13 points and four assists, while Alyssa Ward led OLLU with five assists.
OCU had 20 turnovers, while OLLU committed 16 turnovers. The Stars shot 57 percentfrom the field, while the Saints converted just 36 percent. The Stars owned the rebound advantage 41-36.
The Stars are back in action 7 p.m. Tuesday against Langston at Abe Lemons Arena.