Kaneland wins OT thriller at DeKalb

Kaneland started strong and finished strong in Tuesday night's Northern Illinois Big XII East contest at DeKalb.

The Knights appeared to be on course for an easy victory after outscoring the Barbs 18-8 in the opening quarter, but found points difficult to come by after that.

DeKalb rallied to take its largest lead of the game at 39-34 with 3:12 remaining in regulation when freshman Jennifer Weber and junior Camri Conley came to the rescue.

Weber connected on a pair of crucial 3-pointers and a transition layup while Conley delivered a pair of key assists and buried the second of two free throws with 6 seconds left in overtime to help Kaneland escape with a 49-48 victory.

"We could have crumbled at the end, but they chose to step up and fight through that," said Knights coach Ernie Colombe.

"We definitely kept calm down the stretch and we played our own game," Weber said. "Everyone chipped in."

Kaneland (14-8, 4-6) had just two second half field goals when Weber snapped a 7-point DeKalb run with a trifecta with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter. Conley followed with a driving layup to tie the score.

After the Barbs regained the lead, Conley found Bailey Crimmins (13 points) inside for a layup with 12 seconds left to force overtime tied at 41-41.

Ashlei Lopez (20 points) gave DeKalb (5-20, 2-8) a 46-43 lead in OT with a pair of baskets, but Weber answered with another 3-pointer and evened the score again with a transition layup on a feed from Conley.

"That's why she's out there," Colombe said. "She's a freshman getting valuable minutes right now and the future is very bright for her."

"I definitely feel confident shooting," Weber said. "My teammates got me the ball and I just had to square up and shoot."

Kaneland came up with a defensive stop to regain possession with 10 seconds left. Coming out of a timeout, Conley was fouled driving to the basket.

"We took our time and ran the play right," Colombe said.

DeKalb called a timeout after Conley missed the first free throw, making her 1-for-4 from the line, but Conley hit nothing but net on the second attempt.

"Camri's a hard-nosed kid. She works real hard and we ask her to do a lot, so I'm happy for her tonight," Colombe said.

"I was happy with our effort and we battled back to take the lead, but we have to make some different plays down the stretch to win the game," said DeKalb coach Heath Kent.

Ally VanBogaert (14 points) carried Kaneland in the first half with four 3-pointers while Crimmins tallied 6 quick points, but sat out the entire second quarter with two fouls.

Kaneland led 23-15 at the half, but struggled after DeKalb switched to a zone. The Knights shot just 1-for-12 from the field in the third quarter and the Barbs outscored them 12-4.

"We stopped moving and they're an athletic team and played some tough defense," Colombe said.

"When we get up we kind of relax, and we can't do that," Weber said.

Morgan Weber and Crimmins each grabbed 9 rebounds and VanBogaert had 8 as the Knights outrebounded DeKalb 53-38.

Despite pounding the ball inside and getting numerous second-chance opportunities, Kaneland made just 15-of-55 field goal attempts.

"We were really happy with the way we were looking inside tonight, but we've got to finish better around the rim," Colombe said.