ATLANTA- A fourth-quarter push by the Oglethorpe women's basketball team allowed for a defining 60-49 victory over Pacific University in the opening game of the TownePlace Suites Classic Monday evening. Keimarya Rivera and Sheraton Foster both led the box score with 16 points and Anna Conza followed with 13 points. Marlie Battle spearheaded the defense, tallying seven steals.
The Petrels opened the game in their typical fashion, holding opponents scoreless for several minutes with a strong lead. Conza, Battle and Malia Melton all contributed to the 8-0 lead to begin the game. Lauren Phillip took a piece off of an offensive rebound for a second-chance point, pushing the score to 12-0.
This offensive momentum pushed the Petrels to begin to get hot from range. Conza was a sharpshooter, drilling a 3, and helping maintain a five-point lead. Two fast-break layups from Foster followed by a quick layup from Elder allowed for the Petrels to end the first half 25-17.
Pacific began to climb its way back, closing the lead as small as 28-24, yet the Petrels kept pushing. Foster, Melton and Rivera scored back-to-back-to-back to keep the lead and helped the team shoot 40% from the field in the third quarter. Jaden Winfrey had a crucial steal partnered with a good jumper from Conza to put the score at 37-34.
The final stretch of the game became the closest yet with the score at 42-40. This close call did not last long as Battle had an additional steal followed by Conza and Rivera working to go on an 8-0 run. Pacific did not back down, however, pushing back to make the score 48-47. A third steal by Battle and a steal immediately following by Brooke Herdman allowed Foster to draw the foul and make both shots to keep Pacific at bay.
Keeping possession with Oglethorpe through the end allowed for a strong 60-49 victory. The fourth quarter was the best performance of the night from the Petrels as they shot 50% from the 3-point line.
Game Notes
- Rivera tallied a double-double with 12 rebounds to go alongside her game high 16 points. It was the third double-double for her this season and 29th double-double of her career.
- Rivera added four assists, four steals and two blocks.
- Foster shot 5-of-11 from the field and finished with 16 points alongside five rebounds.
- Conza went 4-for-9 from the field to finish with 13 points.
- Oglethorpe and Pacific have only met once before this, in 2015, with the Boxers claiming the victory in that meeting.
Up Next
The Petrels will continue their tournament play on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 4 p.m. where they will face No. 9 Hope College, their second nationally ranked opponent of the season.
