Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College senior Nyeshea Willie tied the game on a driving basket with 7.8 seconds left in regulation, and freshman center Caila Carter scored four points on two key offensive rebounds in overtime as the Lady Bulldogs knocked off Conference Carolinas co-leader Belmont Abbey, 73-71, Thursday night in the Dog House.
The victory completed a season sweep for Barton (9-11, 6-6) over the Lady Crusaders (15-7, 9-3), who came into the contest tied with Limestone College at the top of the standings. The critical win ended a three-game losing skid for the Lady Bulldogs, and moved the team within a game and a half of fourth place, the final spot to earn a home game for the quarterfinals of the league tournament.
Willie, the nation's second-leading scorer at 24.3 points per game, narrowly surpassed her average in the game, scoring a game-high 25 points. The guard from Virginia Beach, Va., also had six rebounds, five steals and three assists.
Freshman guard Tiffany Webster scored a season-high 17 points and grabbed six rebounds. Senior guard Ashley Thornton contributed 12 points, and junior forward Brianna Thomas chipped in eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Belmont Abbey was paced by junior forward McKenzie Owen, the league's second-leading scorer behind Willie. Owen, who entered the contest scoring 17.8 points per game, recorded a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Tajanna Brown posted 17 points and five rebounds for the Lady Crusaders, and sophomore guard Morgan Midkiff added 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.
The Lady Crusaders took advantage of crisp passing, many on backdoor cuts and lobs over the defense, to produce an astounding 22 assists on 27 made baskets. Kelsey Long delivered a game-high six assists, and Candace Fox chipped in five assists to go with four steals.
Barton enjoyed a five-point lead in the closely contested contest following a Willie layup with 4:22 to go, matching the biggest advantage of the second half for either team. However, Midkiff came up with a block and a steal on consecutive possessions to start Belmont Abbey on an 8-0 run, capped by a Owen layup that put the Lady Crusaders in front 61-58 with 1:21 to go.
The Lady Bulldogs, which had three missed shots and turned the ball over three times during the collapse, finally broke the run when Willie made one of two free throw attempts with 1:10 left, cutting the deficit to two, 61-59.
Carter then stole the ball for Barton, but Owen blocked a driving layup by Webster with 38 seconds left in regulation. Belmont Abbey worked the clock down, but Midkiff lost control of the ball with 17 seconds to go.
After a Barton timeout, Willie drove from the top of the key down the lane, lifting a floater that went in to tie the game at 61-all. Candace Fox tried to drive for a game-winning layup with three seconds left, but the tightly contested shot was off its mark, sending the two sides to overtime.
The Lady Crusaders scored the first two points of the extra frame, but Webster answered with a 3-pointer to put the Lady Bulldogs up one, 64-63. The two sides traded baskets several more times before Carter broke a 68-all tie with a putback following an offensive board.
Midkiff missed a 3-pointer on BAC's next possession, and Thornton responded in kind, missing a trey for Barton. However, Carter was again there for a huge offensive rebound, this time getting fouled and making two free throws to put the Lady Bulldogs up four, 72-68, with 40 seconds left.
Five seconds later, Midkiff was fouled and made both free throws for Belmont Abbey, making it a one-possession game again. The Lady Crusaders nearly came up with a five-second violation on the inbounds, but Barton called timeout just before the whistle. On the second inbound attempt, the Lady Bulldogs did turn the ball over, but Owen missed a contested layup with 29 seconds to go, and the ball went out of bounds to Barton.
On the inbounds, the Lady Crusaders managed to deny the ball from Willie, one of the nation's best free throw shooters at almost 90 percent, and the Lady Bulldogs got the ball instead to Thornton, who was quickly fouled. Thornton missed the first of the two attempts, but made the second one to put Barton up 73-70 with 20 seconds remaining.
Belmont Abbey tried to work for a game-tying 3-pointer, but Willie tied up Fox, and the possession arrow on the jump ball turned the ball over to the Lady Bulldogs with five seconds to go. Barton turned the ball over one more time while attempting to run out the clock, and Long was fouled at half-court with one second left. Long made the first free throw, then intentionally missed the second. Fox came up with the offensive rebound, but could not get off a shot before the buzzer.
Barton helped itself in the contest by outscoring the Lady Crusaders 14 to 7 on fast-break points and grabbing three more rebounds than BAC. However, Belmont Abbey enjoyed a 10-point advantage on points in the paint, 38 to 28, and a huge 28 to 8 advantage on bench scoring.
The contest ended a three-game home stand for the Lady Bulldogs, which will hit the road for their next two games, Saturday afternoon at North Greenville and next Wednesday at league leader Limestone College.
