St. Viator notches OT win over Jacobs

Area motorists weren't the only ones digging out of something on Friday night.

For the Jacobs girls basketball team it wasn't the snow, but instead an early 11-0 deficit. However, just when it looked like the Golden Eagles might climb all the way out of the hole to pull out a win they slipped back and were buried in overtime by St. Viator 43-35 at the Dundee-Crown Thanksgiving Tournament.

Sophomore Myia Clark scored 5 of her game-high 14 points in overtime to lead the Lions, who are now 2-0 at the tournament and to start the season. Julia Bergstrom added 9 points and Maggie Leazer and Haley Robinson each had 7.

"We'll take a win any way we can get it," first-year St. Viator coach Jason Raymond said. "We almost let that one get away, but we kept our composure. Myia was fantastic at the end of the game. She can be a dynamic offensive player. It also helps to have a couple seniors like Maggie Leazer and Julia Bergstrom that can hold it together. They're confidence rubs off on the other players. Obviously still a lot to work to do, but pleased with the two wins and really happy with the hard work and attitude from the girls."

After squandering an 8-point fourth-quarter lead and falling behind 35-33 Robinson tied the game for the Lions at 35-35 on a driving layup with just over 2 minutes left in regulation. Both defenses held after that to force overtime.

Michaela Mueller, who filled in admirably for injured starting point guard Olivia Salimene (twisted ankle) for Viator, hit 1 of 2 free throws just over a minute into overtime to give the Lions a 36-35 lead.

Clark put it away from there. She scored on a spectacular driving baseline reverse layup and then on a transition layup off her own steal. She added a free throw for good measure.

"I knew I had to step up," Clark said. "When the game is close I just look at it as a challenge for me to step up my game. I thought the whole team did great job at picking it up especially on defense."

Jacobs (1-2) was fighting an uphill battle all night. The Golden Eagles recovered from their slow start to pull to within 14-12 in the second quarter only to fall behind 20-14 by halftime. They finally made one last push in the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run to briefly grab the lead on a Teaghan Richman basket with 2:34 left in regulation. However, the Golden Eagles had 2 costly turnovers down the stretch in regulation and then turned the ball over 4 more times in the overtime period.

"The way we came back showed the testament of this team's character," Jacobs coach Joe Benoit said. "Some turnovers cost us at the end, but you have to like the way we battled back. It's just the beginning of the road and it's going to be a process this year, but this is something we can learn from."

Nicole Durben led the Golden Eagles with 9 points, including 4 during the fourth-quarter comeback. Emily Anderson and Maggie Grady each had 11 rebounds.