Senior guard Katie Neher scored 37 points, the fifth-highest total in program history, to lead the Lake Forest College women's basketball team to an improbable 95-89 overtime victory over Luther College Sunday morning in Hilo, Hawaii.
The Foresters trailed by 26 points early in the second half before rallying. They closed to within 10 on a basket by Neher with nearly two minutes remaining in the third quarter but the deficit was back up to 16 a minute into the fourth. The margin shrunk to single digits on a three-point play by junior guard Maurissa Edwards with 6:46 left and another three-point play by Neher with 1:26 to play made it a one-point game.
The Luther lead was down to one again after a basket by senior forward Annie Lally with 1:10 remaining and yet again after a pair of Edwards free throws with 30 seconds on the clock. Neher finally tied the score with four seconds on the clock and the game headed to overtime. Lake Forest outscored the Norse 59-34 in the second half.
Luther scored eight points and the Foresters six in the first two-and-a-half minutes of overtime. A three-pointer by Edwards put Lake Forest on top for good and she combined with Neher to shoot 5-for-6 from the line in the final two minutes to help finish off the victory.
Neher, who scored 32 of the Foresters' 75 points after halftime, shot 12-for-21 from the field and added six rebounds, five assists, and six steals in the contest. Edwards was 7-of-11 from the field in a season-high 24-point performance while Lally and junior guard Melissa Gomez also reached double figures with 11 and 13 points, respectively.
Both teams shot nearly 40 percent from the field and they combined to make 12 of 53 attempts from three-point range and 50 of 74 free throws. Luther had a commanding 63-42 edge in rebounds but committed 27 turnovers to the Foresters' 15.
The comeback victory raised Lake Forest's record on the season to 2-5 while Luther fell to 7-4.
The Foresters will continue play at the Big Island Holiday Classic against Worcester State University Monday afternoon at 1:30 (HST).