C-SC women go overtime to defeat second-place Benedictine for eighth straight home victory

CANTON, Mo. — Avery Oetting made a 3-pointer to put the Culver-Stockton College women’s basketball team ahead for good at the start of overtime, and the Wildcats held on to defeat Benedictine (Kan.) 64-59 in a Heart of America Athletic Conference game Monday night.

The victory is the eighth straight at Joe Charles Field House for the Wildcats, who have won three in a row to improve to 10-6 overall and 7-5 in the Heart. C-SC is in sixth place in the 13-team league. Benedictine dropped to 12-3 overall and 9-2 in the Heart, and remains in second place in the league, three games behind MidAmerica Nazarene, which is 13-0 in league play.

C-SC led 57-51 with 2:32 remaining in the game after Misora Nambara made a layup. However, the Wildcats didn’t score again in regulation play. Josie Weishaar made a 3-pointer for the Ravens with 2:10 to play, and after Olivia Hopp missed a 3-pointer for Culver-Stockton, Weishaar hit another 3-pointer with 1:20 to play to tie the score.

Each team then missed go-ahead 3-point attempts, and Benedictine’s Jennifer Jacobs missed after grabbing an offensive rebound with 16 seconds to play. Nambara turned the ball over with six seconds remaining in regulation, and Nicole Storck missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for force overtime.

A steal by Elizabeth Reed on Benedictine’s first possession in the extra period led to Oetting’s shot. The Ravens missed 8 of 9 shots in overtime, with Weishaar’s jump shot at the 3:36 mark the only field goal. Reed’s layup with 2:09 to play pushed the lead to 62-59, and Nambara and Katie Webb each made a free throw down the stretch.

Storck made two free throws with no time on the clock for the game’s final points.

Nambara scored a career-high 22 points for C-SC. Oetting had 14 points and 12 rebounds for her second career double-double.