Pieper Pours in 27, but Chargers Suffer 1st Home Loss in 3OT Thriller

GALESBURG — For the second time in as many games, the Carl Sandburg College women's basketball team went to overtime, this time dropping a 96-93 decision in triple OT to John Wood on Sunday at John Lewis Gym.

The Chargers (12-4), who beat Highland in OT in their previous outing, forced overtime on a pair of free throws by Elly Bentley with 27 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 64-64. Sandburg had a 71-68 advantage in the closing moments of the first extra session, but the Blazers' Grace Deters buried a 3-pointer with :02 left to send the game to double OT.

Down 82-80, Bentley came up clutch once again at the foul line, hitting a pair of free throws with :13 left in the second overtime to tie the game.

Sandburg took a pair of seven-point leads in the third overtime, the last at 93-86 with 1:55 to play on Brook Pieper's layup off a Kelci Shelton assist. But John Wood closed with the final 10 points of the contest to escape with the victory and hand the Chargers their first home loss of the season.

The Blazers drained back-to-back 3s and took the lead on a pair of free throws with :55 to play. Sandburg had a chance to extend the game, but Pieper's 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.

Pieper finished with a team-best 27 points for her second-highest scoring output of the season. Shelton, coming off a season-high 19 points against Highland, topped that mark with 22 points in the loss. Bentley added 19 points, and Savannah Dominique totaled 11 points, including seven in the final overtime period.

UP NEXT FOR SANDBURG
5:30 p.m. Tuesday vs. Sauk Valley

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