Bobcats Win Double Overtime Thriller at Harvard

Friday, November 30

Cambridge, MA / Lavietes Pavilion

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

4-3

Harvard

4-4

OT 1

OT 2

Quinnipiac

Harvard

11/30/2018 9:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

McClure's double-double and Fay buzzer beater lift Quinnipiac over Crimson

ALLSTON, Mass. – It took 10 extra minutes and a buzzer beater from each team, but Quinnipiac women's basketball prevailed in double overtime, 72-67, over the Harvard University Crimson at Lavietes Pavilion on Friday evening.

Redshirt senior Jen Fay and senior Aryn McClure scored 17 and 16 points, respectively to lead the Bobcats to the victory. McClure added 10 rebounds to earn her first double-double of the season.

SCORE
Quinnipiac 72 / Harvard 67
RECORDS
Quinnipiac (4-3) | Harvard (4-4)
LOCATION
Lavietes Pavilion / Allston, Massachusetts

BOBCATS STATISTICAL LEADERS

Points: Fay (17)
Rebounds: McClure (10)
Assists: Thornton (5)
Blocks: McClure (2)

GAME SUMMARY

The hosts opened the game with a purpose, hitting four of their first five shots and jumping out to a 12-2 lead in the opening five minutes.
Quinnipiac responded with five straight three pointers to cut the lead to three points, 22-19, at the end of the first quarter.
Both defenses locked in for the next ten minutes, as the two teams combined for just 21 points in the second quarter. Harvard carried a 32-30 advantage into the second half.
Katie Benzen opened the half with one of her seven three-point makes to extend the Crimson lead, but the Bobcats took over from there, going on a 13-4 run to take their largest lead of the game.
Jen Fay capped the run with a three-point play, hitting a fall-away layup through contact and then sinking the ensuing free throw.
Quinnipiac took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter and extended it to eight points on back-to-back jump shots by Paula Strautmane.
After the teams exchanged a few buckets, Aryn McClure's jumper put the Bobcats up 59-54 with 1:21 remaining in regulation.
Benzan nailed another three-pointer and the Crimson rebounded a missed shot by Jen Fay to set up the final possession of regulation.
Benzan drove to the basket for a game-tying layup with five seconds left, but McClure stuffed her at the rim, knocking her to the floor in the process. With 1.1 seconds left, the Crimson inbounded the ball to Madeline Raster, who pulled up and hit a buzzer-beater jumper to send the game to overtime.
Harvard's Sydney Skinner opened the scoring in overtime and the Bobcats missed their first 10 shots of the period, but pulled down four offensive rebounds and forced three steals to keep Harvard from extending the lead. Benzan hit another three with 1:03 on the clock and then it was the Bobcats turn for the dramatics.
Jadyn Bush pushed the lead to six with a free throw, before Edel Thornton banked in a three with 38 seconds left. The Bobcats played strong defense on the ensuing Harvard possession, forcing a late three-point miss, and grabbed the defensive rebound with nine seconds on the clock.
Thornton carried the ball up the floor, found Fay coming around a screen, and the 2018 MAAC Tournament MOP banged home a game-tying triple to extend the game for another five minutes.
The teams traded buckets in the opening minute of the period, but the Bobcats did not allow Harvard to score another point after that. McClure hit two free throws and added a layup to seal the deal in the instant classic.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

McClure recorded her first double-double of the season after recording two last season. The MAAC Preseason Player of the Year has scored at least two points in 109 of her 110 career games for the Bobcats.
Fay has scored in double digits in six of her seven games this season and 14 of 15 overall, dating back to last year.
The Bobcats knocked down a season-high 10 three-pointers, matching Harvard's total for the evening.
Brittany Martin was 4-4 from the free throw line in the game, extending her streak to 13 in a row overall.

NEXT UP
The Bobcats end a program-record seven-game road trip with the win and will return home to Hamden, CT to host Central Michigan on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM.