GAMBIER, Ohio - February 17, 2024 - Hiram's Lizzy Scharer dribbled to her left, crossed over to her right, spun around just outside the painted area and delicately lifted the ball out of her left hand in what turned out to be a game-winning buzzer-beater in a 45-44 victory over Kenyon on Saturday afternoon at Tomsich Arena.

The Terriers inbounded the ball facing a 1-point deficit with six seconds remaining in regulation. Scharer flashed toward the center court, received the Anastasia Lawler pass and took control in the most pivotal moment of the game, finding the open lane and shooting the ball perfectly off the backboard to lift Hiram to a fourth conference victory.

The win gives Hiram a jolt of momentum heading into the postseason, where it will travel to Delaware, Ohio to face the third seed in the conference tournament, Ohio Wesleyan. Hiram earned the sixth seed after another regular season that saw the team improve throughout.

Ava Mory and Anastasia Lawler led the team with 11 and 10 points respectively in the win; Mory's 11 rebounds in the game gave her a second career double-double, too. The team's defensive effort also stood out, with Lawler recording a career-high 6 steals and the rest of the Terriers combining for 8 steals.

Hiram forced 24 turnovers, which tied a season-high.

The low-scoring affair was one that was bound to come down to the final minutes of the game. Neither team held a double-digit lead for the entirety of the game. In the second half alone, the largest lead by either team was 4 points. In the fourth quarter, it was 2 points.

The Terriers did just enough to pull out the dramatic finish, taking a 42-41 lead on a Mory layup with 1:21 remaining in the fourth quarter. Star Owens added a free throw, but Kenyon would regain a 44-43 lead thanks to 3 straight points from Anissa Hardy.

Then came Scharer, who put the exclamation point on the regular season by taking matters into her own hands with the game on the line. Her game-winning layup silenced the home crowd and sent Hiram home with a lot to be proud of.

The quarterfinals of the NCAC Tournament for all teams is on Tuesday across four different locations. DePauw is the top seed of the tournament. The winner of the Hiram-Ohio Wesleyan game will play the winner of Wittenberg-Kenyon in the semifinals on Friday at the highest remaining seed's home court.