HIRAM, Ohio – January 22, 2025 – A historic night and dramatic finish made up Hiram's mid-week performance against Oberlin at Price Gymnasium, as Brooke Hickman became the 10th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points and the Terriers nearly won on a last-second 3-pointer in a 69-67 loss to the Yeowomen.
With 1.8 seconds left, Hiram's Sarah Seaman shot a 3-pointer from the right wing, an attempt that looked to have the trajectory and magical touch of a game-winning buzzer beater. The ball bounced off the back rim and almost fell through after a second bounce, but ultimately landed outside the cylinder in a game that epitomized the tightly contested nature of the North Coast Athletic Conference.
Oberlin took a 66-63 lead with 2:17 remaining before Hiram leveled the score on a 3-point play by Avril Drew. The Yeowomen responded on a step-back jumper from Camille Ziniach to regain a 2-point lead, but Hiram again inched closer on a Hickman free throw to close the gap to just 1 point.
The Yeowomen went 1-of-2 at the free-throw line and Hiram called timeout with those 1.8 seconds left on the clock, leaving an opening for the Terriers to come away with the win. Seaman's shot just missed, but the tight loss didn't detract from the memorable evening for Hickman, who entered the record books as the 10th Hiram member of the 1,000-point club.
Having entered the game with 994 career points over 68 games, Hickman quickly reached the 1,000-point plateau by scoring 6 points in a span of just 93 seconds of game time early in the first quarter. All three of those made field goals were layups around the rim, a high-percentage shot that has made Hickman a cornerstone of the Terriers program and the conference-leader in PPG this season. Those three shots made her the first member of the 1,000-point club since both Madison Branch and TT Wright achieved the feat during the 2021-22 season.
The senior from Mentor, Ohio finished the game with 21 points, extending her career-long streak of four straight games with 20+ points. Hickman's 19.5 PPG this season is on pace to be the fourth-highest scoring average in a single season in program history.
Hickman spearheaded her team in a game that featured 14 lead changes and 10 ties over 40 minutes. Both offenses were firing on all cylinders in the first half – scoring a combined 78 points during that span – before defense took over in a fourth quarter that had 22 points and relentless efforts from both teams.
Neither team led by double-digits for the entirety of the contest, with the first half ending in a 39-39 tie and the Terriers latching onto a 2-point lead entering the final quarter. In addition to Hickman, Jo Janda provided a spark with 12 points – including a buzzer-beating 2-pointer at the end of the third quarter – and the duo of Isabella Caceres and Anastasia Lawler totaled five 3-pointers in the starting backcourt.
The fourth quarter started on a high note, with Caceres draining a 3-pointer to propel her team to a 61-56 lead, but the Yeowomen finished the game on a 13-6 run to claim the win. Hickman helped fuel Hiram's heavy advantage in second-chance points (17-6) thanks to her four offensive rebounds in the game, but the Oberlin defense held firm and hung on in the end despite a memorable night for the program.
Hiram will jump back into action on Saturday, when it hosts the Tigers of Wittenberg University at 3 p.m. inside Price Gymnasium in Hiram, Ohio.
