CHADRON, Neb. -- February 6, 2022 -- The Chadron State College women's basketball team (7-13, 6-9 RMAC) lost 77-74 Saturday night in a close overtime clash with Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival CSU-Pueblo (18-5, 14-3 RMAC).
Against one of the strongest defenses in the conference, the Eagles kept their composure and played hard for five periods. It was missed free throws and a critical steal by the Thunderwolves late in overtime that sealed the loss for Chadron State in the end.
The Thunderwolves scored the first points of the game with a three-pointer by Ro Dominguez. CSC would tie it up with a free throw by Olivia Waufle and a layup by Samiyah Worrell. Immediately answering back was Pueblo's Morgan Dial who sank a three-pointer of her own. From there the Thunderwolves would pull away, finishing the quarter with a 19-11 lead over the Eagles.
After allowing a layup and a three-pointer to start the second quarter, the Eagles began to fight back as Jori Peters and Olyvia Pacheco each swished a three-pointer while Bailey Brooks landed two jumpshots and a layup to help make it 35-32 Thunderwolves at halftime.
It was a back-and-forth fight in the third quarter until Peters stole the ball from Pueblo's Jazzy Hughes and swished a fastbreak three-pointer at the top of the key to make the score 49-47 Thunderwolves. After a missed layup by Alisa Davis, Ashayla Powers tied up the game with a layup assisted by Peters.
Giving the Eagles their first lead of the day was Powers, who put up another layup in the paint to make it 51-49. The Thunderwolves quickly put up two more field goals to gain back the lead right before the fourth quarter. The score was 53-51.
CSC swiftly flew to a five-point lead in the fourth quarter after Peters shot a three-pointer and a free throw followed by a three by Pacheco to make it 58-53. Then Pueblo gained their own five-point lead at 2:56 due in part to four turnovers and three fouls by the Eagles.
With the scoreboard reading 66-61 Thunderwolves, Chadron State scored five unanswered points all from free throws by Pacheco, Powers, and Brooks. At 0:27 on the clock, Pueblo would miss a jump shot and a last-second three-pointer to send the game into overtime with the scores tied at 66.
The Eagles made only nine of their 16 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Chadron State initially took a 71-68 lead to start overtime. After both teams went back and forth for a few minutes, the Thunderwolves' Alisha Davis tied the score at 74-74 with a layup with 14 seconds left.
CSC quickly called a timeout with 11 seconds on the clock. Powers passed the ball inbounds but was intercepted by Pueblo's Amaya Lewis, who sprinted down the court to land the go-ahead layup with seven seconds remaining.
After another timeout, the Eagles turned the ball over again when a pass by Worrell flew over the reach of her teammates' hands and went out of bounds.
Following one free throw by CSU-Pueblo, the Eagles had one last chance to tie the game up with three seconds remaining. Peters ran the ball just to the outside of the arc but was blocked by Amaya Lewis as time expired. The result was a heartbreaking 77-74 loss for CSC.
Powers finished the game with 21 points and 13 rebounds, which makes for her third double-double of the season.
The Eagles will be on the road for their next two games. Friday's game at New Mexico Highlands (5-16, 2-13 RMAC) is scheduled for a 5 p.m. tipoff and Saturday's game at UCCS (9-12, 7-8 RMAC) will start at 5:30 p.m.
Chadron State—Ashayla Powers 21, Olyvia Pacheco 18, Jori Peters 16, Bailey Brooks 8, Tatum Peterson 6, Samiyah Worrell 4, Olivia Waufle 1. FG/3PT/FT: 25-56/6-16/18-28, 74 points, 50 rebounds, 16 assists, 25 turnovers.
CSU-Pueblo—Alisha Davis 21, Ro Dominguez 14, Amaya Lewis 14, Jazzy Hughes 10, Tomia Johnson 6, JaNaiya Davis 5, Kansas Watts4, Morgan Dial 3. FG/3PT/FT: 27-60/6-22/17-27, 77 points, 23 rebounds, 15 assists, 13 turnovers.
Chadron State 11 21 19 15 8 --74
CSU-Pueblo 19 16 18 13 11 --77
3-pointers: CSC—Peters 3, Pacheco 3. CSUP—Dominguez 4, Dial 1, Lewis 1.
