QU women snap 17-game losing streak to Drury, move into second in GLVC after double-OT thriller

QUINCY — With her teammates celebrating and the Pepsi Arena crowd on its feet, Mariann Blass tried to soak in the scene as she dribbled the final seconds off the clock before tossing the ball into the rafters as the buzzer sounded.

“It was incredible. The atmosphere was unlike anything I’ve ever played in front of,” she said. “We’ve had this game marked. We knew what it meant. It’s a game that we knew we had to win, and in the end, we came together and got it done.”

Finally, after 11 years and 17 consecutive defeats, the Quincy University women’s basketball team tasted victory against Drury.

After frittering away a 12-point halftime lead, the Hawks showed their resilience by overcoming a six-point deficit in the final four minutes of regulation and by making enough plays in two, nail-biting overtime periods to extend their winning streak to 12 games with a dramatic 104-94 victory Saturday afternoon.

“The monkey’s definitely off our back,” Hawks coach Courtney Boyd said.

QU seized control after Drury’s Makayla Brooks sent the game into a second overtime by sinking a contested 3-pointer from the left corner with 5.2 seconds left in the first extra period.

Blass opened the second overtime by drilling a three from the right wing, and Cymirah Williams scored six consecutive points to provide separation in a matchup between two of the top teams in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

The victory enabled QU (18-5, 12-2 GLVC) to leapfrog Drury and move into second place, a game behind conference leader Lewis, with six regular-season games remaining. It marked the Hawks’ first victory in the series since Jan. 30, 2014.

Saying it was a long time coming would be an understatement.

“We knew this was our game going into the second overtime,” said Williams, who scored 10 of her team-high 22 points in the extra periods. “The momentum was on our side. We felt it. Our mindset was this was going to be our five minutes.”

QU prevailed largely because it outrebounded the taller Drury team 58-42. Its 34 offensive rebounds led to 28 second-chance points, compared to only 11 for the Panthers. The Hawks forced 24 turnovers, went 32-for-42 from the free-throw line, showed their offensive balance with six players scoring in double figures and made hustle plays that proved to be the difference.

“Like we’ve been preaching all year, it’s going to take a full effort,” Boyd said. “Once they realize how important every single one of their roles are, no matter how many minutes they’re playing, that makes us a really tough team to beat.”

The contest was eerily similar to the first meeting in December in Springfield, Mo., when QU led by seven at halftime and by two entering the fourth quarter before falling short, 91-82.

The Hawks used a 17-2 run overlapping the first and second quarters to turn a seven-point deficit into a 27-19 lead. Taking advantage of 10 turnovers and 11 second-chance points, they twice stretched it to as many as 14 before a driving layup by the Panthers’ Kaylee King trimmed the margin to 46-34 at halftime.

But just as it did in December, QU went cold from the field in the third quarter and was unable to stop Drury’s dribble penetration, especially by guard Rhi Gibbons, who scored a game-high 28 points before fouling out with two minutes left in the first overtime.

The Panthers briefly snatched the lead at 56-55 on Gibbons’ free throw with 1:36 left in the period, but Williams answered with a jumper from the right baseline and Mikayla Huffine drove the left baseline for a layup after Chomp Danso snared one of her six offensive rebounds to make it 59-56.

However, the Hawks’ offense remained stagnant, managing just six free throws in the opening four minutes of the final quarter. The Panthers moved in front 71-65 on Gibbons’ driving layup and free throw after being fouled.

“They did that to us last time, so we knew it was coming,” Blass said. “At this point in the season, we’ve seen it all. We’ve been down before and been able to come back. We just have that confidence in each other, knowing that if one person gets a board, someone else is going to make an amazing shot.”

On cue, a steal and layup by Nicole McDermott and three inside baskets by Taylor Haase fueled a spurt that drew the Hawks within 77-75 with 3:17 to play. Both teams missed scoring several opportunities before Huffine scored in traffic to tie it with 1:15 to go.

Twice the Hawks had possession with a chance to go ahead in the final 40 seconds, but both times they were whistled for offensive fouls. Brooks, who scored 23 points, misfired on what would have been a game-winning 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left, leading to overtime.

QU led by four points with 20.1 seconds remaining in the first overtime, but Josie Storey banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to narrow it to one.

Williams then missed two free throws, but Karsyn Stratton grabbed the rebound on the second and was fouled. Her two free throws made it 90-87 with 12.8 seconds to go before Brooks tied it with her 3-pointer.

The Hawks had a chance to win after advancing the ball to midcourt, but Stratton’s jumper rattled in and out as time expired.

Drury, which had four players foul out, was no match for QU in the second extra period. The Panthers, now 16-6 overall and 12-3 in the GLVC, turned the ball over three times and managed just a lone field goal.

Williams had 10 rebounds to go along with her 22 points. Huffine finished with 18 points, McDermott 15, Stratton 13, Haase 11 and Danso 10. Danso also had a game-high 13 rebounds. QU outscored Drury 32-18 from the free-throw line.

It was the Hawks’ second double-overtime game of the season. They dropped the first, 88-84, at Upper Iowa three days before losing to Drury in December.

The memory was fresh.

“There was a four-minute stretch in each of those game that we fell asleep,” Boyd said. “We didn’t stay on our defensive assignments. We weren’t able to find a rhythm on offense.

“So, I looked at the team going into that last overtime and told them we needed four more minutes. They gave it to us, so let’s go and run with it. They took that chance and ran with it.”