DANVILLE, Ky.— After hosting their last four Southern Athletic Association games, the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels made the trip out to Kentucky to play SAA frontrunner Centre. After the Petrels held a 13-point second-half lead, the Colonels closed regulation with a 14-3 run and hit a buzzer-beating shot to force overtime. Centre was able to push past Oglethorpe by a mere two points at the end of overtime defeating the Petrels 79-77.
Freshman Keimarya Rivera led Oglethorpe with her fifth double-double of the season consisting of 23 points and 11 rebounds. Five Petrels were in double figures in the scoring column, with Morgan Skipper (14), Olivia Tucker (12), Mia Geveke (12) and Gabby Hudson (10) following.
Oglethorpe held the lead for almost the entire first quarter. Centre would end up taking the lead with two minutes left on the clock leading 17-15 at the end of the first. The Petrels put up 17 shots from the field in the first making seven of them and only got to the free throw line once the entire first quarter. Keimarya Rivera led Oglethorpe's offensive efforts with eight first-quarter points.
The Petrels came out firing in the second quarter shooting a perfect 5-5 from beyond the three and 5-6 from the free throw line, a lights-out offensive performance with six Petrels responsible for the 24 second-quarter points as to Centre's 19. Geveke, the sharp-shooting freshman guard, led the team with nine points in the quarter all from 3-point territory. She would go on to finish with 12 points and two assists. Oglethorpe held the lead over Centre going into the half up 39-36.
Oglethorpe picked up right where they left off in the second, scoring more than double the Colonels' points in the third quarter. The Petrels' defensive hustle in the third held Centre to nine points in the quarter, a team effort including three steals from three individual Petrels that put Oglethorpe ahead of Centre 58-45.
Centre's offense put it together in the final quarter of regulation outscoring the Petrels 24-11 thanks to a Centre 14-3 offensive run to force overtime at 69-69. In the five-minute overtime, Oglethorpe shot a perfect 3-3 from the field and 2-2 at the free-throw line, but perfection was not enough as a pair of Colonel 3-pointers would put Centre past Oglethorpe by two points 79-77 at the end of overtime.
Centre currently sits atop the Southern Athletic Association standings at 11-1 in SAA play. After the loss, Oglethorpe is now tied with Birmingham Southern for the fourth seed sitting at 11-11 on the season and 5-7 in SAA play.
Game Notes
- Rivera's fifth double-double also came alongside a game-high four steals, matching Mahkayla Premo.
- Skipper nearly had a double-double of her own with nine rebounds next to her 14 points.
- This was Skipper's third straight game in double figures, and she is averaging 17.7 points in the last three games.
- Oglethorpe is now 24-18 against Centre since 2002. Centre has won the last three meetings, but Oglethorpe won the previous 10 before that.
Up Next
The Petrels will make a stop in Sewanee, Tennessee, before coming home to Atlanta to take on the Tigers of Sewanee. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 12.
