LOCK HAVEN – With 0.7 seconds left on the clock, graduate student Ryan Weise drained a deep three-pointer off pass from sophomore Carley Adams to lift the East Stroudsburg University women's basketball team past Lock Haven, 59-56, on Wednesday evening inside the Thomas Fieldhouse.
The Warriors (4-20, 3-18) found themselves trailing 56-53 with 17 seconds remaining until Weise drilled a three-pointer to tie the game at 56-56 with five seconds to go. With a chance to win the game, the Bald Eagles (13-13, 9-12) were called for an offensive foul on the inbound, which set up the Allentown, N.J. native for the game-winner.
The overtime victory is the first for ESU since December 30, 2017, and today was the first time the Warriors won a game in the last 5 seconds since a Rebecca Rutkowski putback at the buzzer on January 16, 2016.
The reigning PSAC East Athlete of the Week finished with 21 points, six rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Over the last week, Weise is averaging 24.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 2.3 steals across 41.2 minutes per game.
In a career-high 48 minutes, Claire Courter was on fire in the second half, scoring 11 of her career-best 16 points in the game.
Notables
- Cassie Ksiazek scored in double figures for the second straight game with 11 points, to go along with six rebounds and two blocks
- Izzy Vogel added nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals
- The Warriors were 22-of-64 (34.4%) from the field and made 8-of-17 (47.1) from beyond the arc
- Jaynelle Robinson paced Lock Haven with a double-double on 18 points and 15 rebounds to go with four blocks. Also scoring in double figures for the Bald Eagles was Brooke Lawyer (13 points) and Carly Fitzmorris (12 points)
- The Bald Eagles finished 15-of-45 (33.3%) from the floor and converted just 3-of-11 (27.3) from the three point line
- Lock Haven held a significant edge at the free throw line going 23-of-32 (71.9%) while ESU was only 7-of-9 (77.8%)
How It Happened
- Neither team could find much of rhythm in the first quarter as the score was 5-4 in favor of ESU at the 5:30 mark. From that point on, ESU and Lock Haven each scored six points to put the score at 11-10 in favor of Warriors after the first 10 minutes.
- The second quarter opened in similar fashion as the score remained the same until Brooke Lawyer converted a pair of free throws to put Lock Haven back in front 12-11. Over the next three minutes, the Warriors used a 11-3 run to build a seven point advantage and would into the half leading 24-20.
- ESU carried over their momentum in the second half, as they went ahead 31-22 at the 5:43 mark following a 7-2 spurt that was capped by a Weise three-pointer. However, the Bald Eagles closed out the third quarter strong by outscoring the Warriors 9-6 to cut their deficit to 37-31.
- After the Warriors took a 42-33 lead to begin the fourth quarter, Lock Haven answered with a 7-0 run over nearly three minutes to pull within two at 42-40. Following the media timeout, ESU went ahead 46-44 after a driving layup from Weise, but over the next 3:07, the Warriors were held scoreless, and Lock Haven tied the game at 46-46.
- ESU had a chance to take the lead with under 43 seconds to go but after a turnover, Lock Haven's Carly Fitzmorris threw up a floater as the time expired, but the ball bounced around the rim and off to send the game to overtime.
- In a high-scoring overtime period, the lead changed five times and the score was tied on three separate occasions. Lock Haven needed just one stop after going ahead 56-53 with 17 seconds, but Weise knocked down a contested three to even the game at 56-56. After a Lock Haven turnover on the ensuing inbounds, Adams dribbled the ball into the paint before dishing out to wide open Weise, who drilled the game-winner.
Up Next
The Warriors wrap up their 2021-22 campaign on Saturday with a stop at West Chester. Tip-off between ESU and WCU is set for 1 p.m. inside Hollinger Fieldhouse.
