SOUTH BEND, Ind. – An 11-0 run in double overtime and a career night from freshman Maddie Gard provided the number four-seeded Indiana University South Bend women’s basketball team the winning margin in a 89-80 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference quarterfinal thriller over No. 5 St. Ambrose inside the Student Activities Center, Tuesday evening, Feb. 25.
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With the victory, the Titans improved their record to 25-6 overall and head to CCAC regular-season champion Saint Xavier on Thursday, Feb. 27 for a semifinal showdown in the Shannon Center. Time to be announced.
Maddie Gard followed up her last game with another career-high, scoring 33 points on 12-of-18 shooting to go along with six steals, six rebounds and two assists for a stat-stuffing performance in her first league tournament game.
Freshman counterpart Emma Fisher scored 13 on 4-of-7 shooting, including 5-for-7 from the free throw line to lead the Titan offense.
Junior Courtney Raymer put in nine points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench while sophomore Rachael Robards grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
The Titans took the lead by as many as seven points with 2:50 to go before the Bees closed with a 7-0 to tie up the score at 62-all and force five extra minutes.
In the first extra time, senior Kyleigh Kubik converted a pair of freebies with 39 seconds to put the Titans up 72-66 left. St. Ambrose once again went on a 6-0 run, that was highlighted by a three-point prayer by SAU’s Madi Epperson with one second left, to force double-overtime.
IU South Bend turned on the jets in the second overtime, outscoring St. Ambrose 11-0 that would eventually seal the quarterfinal victory.
The Titans finished the game shooting 40.5 percent (30-of-74) from the floor, 28 percent (7-of-25) from three-point land and 78.6 (22-of-28) on free throws. IUSB forced 29 turnovers on 17 steals while converting 17 of its own miscues that led to 15 Bee points.
The Bees shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the field, 44.4 percent (8-of-18) on three-pointers and 90 percent (18-of20) from the charity stripe. St. Ambrose held a slight 42-40 advantage over Indiana University South Bend in rebounding for the game.
