GREENVILLE, Pa. - November 8, 2021 – Hiram women's basketball fell to the Thiel College Tomcats, 70-66, in overtime in their first road contest of the year on Monday at Rissell-Beeghly Gymnasium.
Hiram got off to a hot start, taking an early 9-2 lead on
Haley Thompson's triple with 6:51 to play in the first quarter. Another three by
Maddie Rakestraw made it a 10-point Hiram lead, before the Tomcats got it down to six, 17-11, heading into the second.
A bit of a scoring drought from the Terriers to begin the second helped Thiel pull within two, 19-17, on Destiny Johnson's free throw, but Thompson and
Madison Branch brought the lead back out to six, 23-17, with a pair of layups with just under five minutes left in the quarter.
Thiel again pulled within two, 23-21, with 3:12 left in the second, but the Terriers ended the first half on a 6-2 run to take a 29-23 lead into the locker room.
However, Hiram went cold to start the third quarter, and Thiel took advantage turning a six-point deficit into a seven-point lead, 38-31, over the first seven minutes of the quarter.
Alex Lichner's three slowed Thiel's run, bringing the Tomcats' lead back down to four. But six-straight Thiel points made it an eight-point lead, 45-37, before a free throw by Thompson and Branch's layup at the third-quarter buzzer cut the lead down to give, 45-40, headed to the fourth.
And behind 17 fourth-quarter points from
Selena Vargas, the Terriers made their run, retaking the lead just 1:15 into the fourth. But the Tomcats hung with the Terriers, trading buckets down the stretch.
Down by four, Thiel tied the score at 53-all with 3:02 to play, before another Vargas layup made it 55-53 with 2:40 remaining. Hiram then again pulled ahead by three, but with just over a minute to play, the Tomcats tied things up on a free throw by Emily Harriman.
Vargas knocked down 1-of-2 at the line with 23 seconds to play to make it 60-58, but after the sophomore fouled out, Harriman tied the game with just two seconds remaining, and the two sides headed to overtime.
Cici Bright opened the overtime period with a layup, as Hiram built a three-point, 64-61 lead on a pair of free throws by Thompson, but Harriman brought the lead back down to one, before a jumper by Rachel Breckenridge with 55 seconds to play gave Thiel a lead they'd never relinquish.
And as the Terriers went cold over the final stretch, Thiel knocked down their free throws to seal the 70-66 victory.
Hiram falls to 1-1 with the loss, while Thiel moves to 1-1 with the win.
Vargas led the Terriers with 19 points, adding 11 rebounds for her first career double-double, while Rakestraw and Thompson tallied 12 points apiece.
Vargas also led Hiram with her 11 boards, while Lichner added eight. Both Branch and Rakestraw also totaled a team-high six assists.
Hiram shot 41.0 percent from the field, and outrebounded the Tomcats 42-32, but turned the ball over 23 times leading to 17 points of turnover for Thiel.
The Terriers will look to bounce back when they head to Baltimore, Md. for the Renie Amoss Memorial Tip-off Classic beginning Friday, Nov. 12 with a 5:30 p.m. matchup against the host Goucher College Gophers.
