HIRAM, Ohio — The
Earlham College women’s basketball team finished its weekend road trip on Saturday with a 65-58 overtime loss to
Hiram College.
Jessica Wooden led the Quakers with 12 points in the North Coast Athletic Conference game. With the Quakers trailing in the final moments of regulation, it was Wooden’s 3-pointer that sent the game into an extra session.
In the overtime, Earlham worked its way to a 56-55 advantage when
Jayana Sims scored with 2:55 remaining.
Unfortunately for the Quakers, Hiram (4-17, 3-9) would take the lead for good with a basket at the 2:42 mark to make it 57-56. From that point, the Terriers made 8-of-10 free throws the rest of the way to hold off the Quakers.
Whitney Sparkman finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Wooden added nine rebounds. Sims contributed nine points to go with her team-leading five assists and five steals.
Nikki Darrett tossed in eight points, while pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds.
Quakers hold halftime lead
Earlham had an early lead after
Michelle Miranda hit a 3-pointer with 18:43 left in the opening stanza. The game was later tied at 8-8 and then the Terriers worked their way to a 23-15 advantage with 6:02 remaining.
At that point, the Quakers went on an 11-0 run. Whitney Sparkman scored to give Earlham a 24-23 lead and Jayana Sims capped the rally with a basket at the 2:43 mark to make it 26-23.
Hiram tied the contest 26-26 with 2:13 left before Sparkman scored the final basket of the period to give the Quakers a 28-26 lead with 1:20 left before intermission.
In the second half, the Quakers led most of the way until Hiram scored two straight baskets on top 49-45 with 1:37 left in regulation. Wooden drilled a 3-pointer to bring the Quakers to within one at the 1:20 mark.
Moments later, Hiram missed a free throw attempt and Wooden hit her trey that tied the game at 51-51 with five seconds remaining to set up the overtime period.
Earlham (2-19, 1-11) returns home to face Denison University on Wednesday night. The NCAC affair on Schuckman Court in the Athletics and Wellness Center starts at 7:30 p.m.
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