SAU Goes Down in OT

1/25/06
Box Score
DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Some losses are harder to swallow than others. For the Queen Bees, Wednesday was one of those games. Iowa Wesleyan defeated SAU 67-63 in overtime, giving the Lady Tigers sole possession of first place in the Midwest Classic Conference.

The game was a see-saw battle all night with six ties and 22 lead changes. The Queen Bees (15-7, 5-2) couldn't connect from downtown in the first half, going 0-for-7, while IWC (15-7, 6-1) shot 33% from beyond the arc. Iowa Wesleyan held the largest lead of the half, five points, with six minutes left. SAU was able to make a mini-run to cut that lead to two points heading into halftime.

At the start of the second half, it looked as if Iowa Wesleyan might run away with the game, getting out to a nine point lead early in the half. SAU battled back though, going on a 12-2 run, capped off by a Casey Breitbach 3-pointer to take the lead with 13:00 remaining in regulation. In this game however, no lead was safe. The two teams took turns grabbing the lead from one another for the rest of the game. The Tigers' Allison Falls hit two free throws with under two minutes left to tie the game at 57. Jennifer Goetz had one last chance to win the game in regulation, but her jump shot was no good as time expired, sending SAU to their first overtime game of the season.

Iowa Wesleyan got off to a good start in the extra frame, scoring the first four points, but Cathy Mangan put the Queen Bees right back in it with a three-pointer. That's as close as SAU would get the rest of the way. The Lady Tigers were able to hit their free throws down the stretch and they went home with the victory.

Goetz scored 19 points in the losing effort, while also gathering six rebounds and six assists. Cathy Mangan had 12 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, while Jody Wulff continued her strong play as of late with 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

Iowa Wesleyan got a big game out of Allison Falls, who finished with 24 points and five rebounds. Amber Pence scored 15, while also recording three steals. Katie Bartsch and Sara Goodman scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.

St. Ambrose will try to rebound Saturday, as they'll travel to La Crosse, Wisconsin to play Viterbo. The Queen Bees defeated the Lady V-Hawks 52-39 earlier this season. Saturday's game will begin at 1:00 and will be followed by the men's game.

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