Women's Basketball 1/2/2016 4:03:00 PM

Bulldogs Fall In Double-OT Thriller

Box Score (HTML)

ST. LOUIS – A valiant effort came up one-point short as the Truman Women's Basketball team fell to the University of Missouri-St. Louis 61-60 in double overtime on Saturday afternoon in the final non-conference game of the season.

Truman (8-5) scored the first four points of the game, all at the free throw line, but then the Tritons (6-5) scored the next seven and led throughout the contest. UMSL would take their largest lead at 12 with 3:06 left in the third quarter at 37-25 but the Bulldogs would rattle off eight straight points with three-pointers by Courtney Strait and Kasey Gassensmith. Strait closed out the 17-point third quarter with another triple and the Bulldogs trailed by only three at 41-38.

Rachel Steinhoff scored four straight to bring the Bulldogs all the way back and knot the score at 45 apiece. From that point on, it remained a one-possession game for the duration of regulation and through both overtimes, a span of over 16 and a half minutes.

Truman could not get in front of the Tritons down the stretch. The Bulldogs had multiple chances to take the lead including near the end of regulation. The Bulldogs gained possession following a turnover with 36 seconds left and after a timeout advancement of the ball into the offensive end, could not get a shot off to win it. UMSL had five seconds to win it but Shea O'Brien's three-pointer missed the mark.

Both teams exchanged free throws in the first overtime before Jordan Fletcher put UMSL up 54-52 with 52 seconds left. Strait tried for the win with a three attempt with four seconds showing but missed however the rebound went to the Bulldogs for another chance. Steinhoff threw a lop pass to Gassensmith who banked it home for the tie as time expired.

Cassidy Clark finally gave Truman the lead in the second overtime at 56-54 but it was short lived with two free throws by Julie Jurasits. Gassensmith put the Bulldogs in front again on the next possession but O'Brien answered quickly for the Tritons for the eighth tie since the fourth quarter.

Ashley Hartwig tied the game for the ninth time with two clutch free throws with 1:44 showing however Fletcher made the first of two seven seconds later to put the Tritons back on top 61-60. Truman had three more chances in the final minute for the winner but each shot missed their mark.

Shooting was an issue for the Bulldogs as they were 29.4% from the field for the game despite the fact that Truman dominated the glass 53-42 and had 16 offensive rebounds in the process. The Bulldogs also had eight blocked shots on the afternoon.

Gassensmith led the Bulldogs with 14 points with Strait and Steinhoff adding 11 each. Clark had a season-high 10 rebounds and Hartwig added nine boards with seven on the offensive end.

It took two overtimes for Missouri-St. Louis to become only the third team against Truman this season to score over 60 points. The Tritons were 37.3% from the floor and were led by O'Brien's 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

The Bulldogs will play exclusively in the GLVC starting on Thursday night with a home game against McKendree (Ill.) University at 5:30 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#30 Kasey Gassensmith: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#42 Ashley Hartwig: F; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#32 Rachel Steinhoff: G; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#23 Courtney Strait: G; 5' 10"; Senior

#34 Cassidy Clark: C; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#30 Kasey Gassensmith
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#42 Ashley Hartwig
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: F

#32 Rachel Steinhoff
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: G

#23 Courtney Strait
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G

#34 Cassidy Clark
: 6' 2"; Junior
: C