ATLANTA – In a game that was all about runs, the Oglethorpe women's basketball team went on a 20-3 first-half run and used an 8-3 game-finishing run to beat Rhodes 73-70 Friday night in Dorough Field House. Freshman Mahkayla Premo scored a career-high 19 points to lead the Stormy Petrels.
Oglethorpe's final eight points came in the last two minutes. After Olivia Tucker completed a 16-4 run with a fastbreak jumper to tie the game at 65-65 with 2:40 left, Oglethorpe trailed 67-65 with less than two minutes to go.
Malia Melton tied the game with a basket underneath, plus drew the foul and converted the old-fashioned 3-point play with a made free throw at the 1:33 mark. It gave Oglethorpe a one-point lead, and the Stormy Petrels took the lead again on the next possession with a made free throw from Premo, then added to the lead with made free throws from Tucker seconds later.
Tucker's free throws proved to be clutch, as she calmly knocked them both down with under 17 seconds left in a one-point game. After Rhodes cut the lead to one on the next possession, Premo did the same as Tucker, knocking down her pair with under seven seconds left.
The opening half was all about pivotal runs as well. Oglethorpe dug a big hole in the opening quarter but dug itself out with a 9-4 run starting in the first quarter, answered by a 10-0 Rhodes run, and a 20-3 run in the second quarter. The latter of these runs included a 13-0 run to conclude the first half and featured a Premo buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Petrels a 42-39 lead at the break.
Rhodes quickly took the lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but the teams would trade five lead changes and one tie over that period until Rhodes claimed a 51-49 edge heading into the fourth. Oglethorpe then trailed by as many as seven in the fourth but strung together two more key runs in the closing minutes to pull out the victory.
Three Petrels made their way to double digits in scoring. Premo had a career-high 19, Keimarya Rivera 16, and Melton 15 alongside a career-high nine rebounds. Premo added four assists to match Tucker who had a career-high four assists.
Game Notes
- Oglethorpe's 20-3 run over the last five minutes of the first half featured scoring from five players, including Premo's seven and Morgan Skipper's six.
- Oglethorpe finished the last four minutes of the first half on a 13-0 run during which time the Petrels were 5-of-5 from the field and held Rhodes to 0-for-6.
- Oglethorpe avenged a 62-48 loss at Rhodes just last week.
- Three career highs were recorded: Premo (19 points), Melton (nine rebounds) and Tucker (four assists).
- Oglethorpe moved to 9-9 on the season and 3-5 in the Southern Athletic Association.
- Rhodes dropped to 9-10 (5-3 SAA).
Up Next
Oglethorpe hosts Hendrix Sunday at 12 p.m. It continues a four-game homestand which goes through two more home games next weekend.
