Front Royal, VA- The Lady Crusaders notched their first win last night (Nov. 2) in a thrilling overtime game against the Tigers of Trinity University.
The Crusaders jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. And just minutes later Caroline Howerton (Sophomore) and Kate Walz (Freshman) hit back to back threes, followed by a jumper by Michaela Pennefather (Senior) running the score to 18-5. Trinity bounced back pulling within six before half, the score being 30-24.
The Crusaders looked to be in good shape in the second half, but then foul trouble struck. Two starters; Walz, the teams Point Guard, and Forward, Mary Heisler (Senior), both picked up their fifth personal fouls. With two starters on the bench the Crusaders had trouble scoring and Trinity University crawled back into the game eventually taking a 41-39 lead with 5 minutes to go. The two teams battled back and forth for the last 5 minutes both squads leading at different times. However, when the final buzzer sounded the score was tied, 44-44.
Entering overtime without Walz or M. Heisler, things did not look good for the Crusaders. But Bridget Duffy (Sophomore) came up big, scoring four of her six points in OT. The Crusaders were able to outscore Trinity 8-4 in OT winning the game 57-53.
The Crusaders offense was led by Pennether as she notched her second double-double of the season, with 10 rebounds and impressive 20 points. Sisters Mary and Annie Heisler (Sophomore) both did a wonderful job sharing the ball each putting up four assists. M. Heisler and Walz, both before fouling out were able to score double figures, M. Heisler got 11 and Walz added 10 of her own.
The Crusaders are glad to get their first win under their belt, but their focus now turns to MACU as they prepare to play them this upcoming Saturday.