Women's Basketball
CHARLESTON 90, WHEELING JESUIT 88 (OT)
March 11, 2006
(CHARLESTON, W.VA)-Courtney Thomas' driving bucket with eight seconds remaining in overtime lifted Charleston (30-2) to a dramatic 90-88 victory over Wheeling Jesuit (27-5). The victory moves the Golden Eagles into a Monday evening showdown with either Glenville State or Anderson (SC) for the NCAA Division II East Region women's basketball title.
Thomas and Wheeling Jesuit's Sarah Setcavage waged a back-and-forth duel in the overtime. Thomas scored seven of her 15 points during the extra session, while Setcavage netted nine of her game-high 28 points.
Charleston needed a layup from Rachel Pike with two seconds remaining in regulation to send the contest to overtime. The Golden Eagles rebounded a missed free throw with 14 seconds left. Point guard Erica McElroy slipped in the backcourt, but recovered to drive the lane where she found Pike open for the score to make it 75-75.
"We practice this every day with a two-minute drill," said Pike. "We were totally mentally prepared for anything that would come up. We knew we had the heart to win this game. Erica deserves all the credit on the play. She's a great penetrator. I can make a layup."
The Golden Eagles roared to a quick five-point lead in the overtime on a Thomas five-footer and straightaway three-pointer. WJU came back to knot the score at 81-81 after Lindsey Piar drained a trifecta on a Cardinal fast break.
Charleston regained the lead at the 1:55 mark on a Pike follow. Setcavage responded seconds later with an inside move off the glass. Another Pike inside basket brought one more lead change as UC went up 85-83 with 1:13 remaining.
The momentum swung back to the Cards with an old-fashioned Setcavage three-point play that put WJU in the lead for the final time at 86-85 at the 0:51 mark. Laura Kinsler then canned a three-pointer from the right side to make it 88-86 UC.
One final Setcavage basket with 31 seconds remaining set the stage for Thomas' heroics. The Cardinals could not get a final shot in the last eight seconds before the horn sounded.
"I had an angle on it with the big girl on me," said Thomas as she described the game-winner. "I shot a little quicker than I wanted, but knew we would be in good shape as long as we stopped the ball."
Charleston led by as many 11 points early in the contest, but WJU fought back in a battle that saw 10 ties and the same number of lead changes.
Pike led Charleston with 19 points, while Kinsler chipped in with 18. Reserve Emily Jones provided a spark with a 15-point effort, 14 of those coming in the opening half as UC built a 43-35 lead at the break. Thomas finished with eight assists to go with 15 points. East Region and West Virginia Conference Player of the Year Lisa Lee contributed 10 points and eight rebounds before fouling out late in regulation. McElroy dished out 11 assists.
Setcavage grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds to go with her 28 points. Piar netted 21 points and point guard Jade Eckleberry tossed in 14. Jenna Johnson dished out nine assists for the Cards, who reached the regional semifinals for the first time in program history.
VISITORS: Wheeling Jesuit
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
-
12 Jenna Johnson....... * 1 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 5 3 2 9 3 0 4 38
21 Jade Eckleberry..... * 4 11 4 7 2 2 1 0 1 3 14 3 2 0 0 40
24 Lindsey Piar........ * 7 14 2 2 5 8 1 0 1 3 21 2 4 0 0 35
30 Katie Repicky....... * 3 4 3 3 1 2 0 4 4 2 10 2 3 0 2 29
50 Sarah Setcavage..... * 10 18 0 0 8 11 4 11 15 4 28 0 3 1 1 33
20 Katie Hine.......... 3 5 2 2 0 0 0 2 2 3 8 2 3 0 1 22
23 Shayla Holenka...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
32 Bridget O'Brien..... 1 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 10
33 Lindsay Coyne....... 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 1 0 1 9
40 Megan O'Donnell..... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
TM Team................ 1 1 2
Totals.............. 30 62 12 17 16 23 9 22 31 18 88 23 19 2 9 225
1st Half 2nd Half Game Totals
TOTAL FG%: 14-31 .452 11-25 .440 30-62 .484
3-Pt. FG%: 7-10 .700 4-6 .667 12-17 .706
F Throw %: 0-0 .000 14-20 .700 16-23 .696
Deadball rebounds: 3
HOME TEAM: Charleston
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
-
13 Courtney Thomas..... * 7 17 1 3 0 1 1 1 2 0 15 8 4 0 3 38
21 Erica McElroy....... * 2 6 0 0 1 2 0 2 2 4 5 11 7 1 0 33
25 Rachel Pike......... * 9 12 0 1 1 1 1 4 5 3 19 2 4 0 3 39
30 Laura Kinsler....... * 7 11 2 3 2 2 4 2 6 3 18 1 3 0 2 34
32 Lisa Lee............ * 3 5 0 0 4 8 1 7 8 5 10 2 2 1 1 22
10 Veronica Carmen..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
11 Mandy Ebel.......... 3 4 2 3 0 0 0 7 7 2 8 0 1 1 1 26
23 Jihan Williams...... 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3
33 Emily Jones......... 5 7 4 6 1 2 0 4 4 1 15 1 1 0 1 29
TM Team................ 2 2
Totals.............. 36 63 9 16 9 16 10 27 37 18 90 25 22 4 11 225
1st Half 2nd Half Game Totals
TOTAL FG%: 17-25 .680 13-29 .448 36-63 .571
3-Pt. FG%: 5-8 .625 2-5 .400 9-16 .563
F Throw %: 4-8 .500 4-6 .667 9-16 .563
Deadball rebounds: 2
Date: 3/11/06 Site: Charleston, W.Va. Eddie King Gym
Technical fouls: Wheeling Jesuit-None. Charleston-None.
Score by Periods 1 2 OT Total
Wheeling Jesuit..... 35 40 13 - 88
Charleston.......... 43 32 15 - 90
At Charleston, W.Va.
CHARLESTON 90, WHEELING JESUIT 88
WHEELING JESUIT
Sarah Setcavage 10-18 8-11 28; Lindsey Piar 7-14 5-8 21; Jade Eckleberry
4-11 2-2 14; Katie Repicky 3-4 1-2 10; Katie Hine 3-5 0-0 8; Lindsay Coyne
1-1 0-0 3; Jenna Johnson 1-4 0-0 2; Bridget O'Brien 1-4 0-0 2; Megan
O'Donnell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-62 16-23 88.
CHARLESTON
Rachel Pike 9-12 1-1 19; Laura Kinsler 7-11 2-2 18; Emily Jones 5-7 1-2 15;
Courtney Thomas 7-17 0-1 15; Lisa Lee 3-5 4-8 10; Mandy Ebel 3-4 0-0 8;
Erica McElroy 2-6 1-2 5; Jihan Williams 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 36-63 9-16 90.
Wheeling Jesuit..... 35 40 13 - 88
Charleston.......... 43 32 15 - 90
3-point goals-Wheeling Jesuit 12-17 (Jade Eckleberry 4-7; Katie Repicky 3-3;
Lindsey Piar 2-2; Katie Hine 2-2; Lindsay Coyne 1-1; Bridget O'Brien 0-2),
Charleston 9-16 (Emily Jones 4-6; Mandy Ebel 2-3; Laura Kinsler 2-3;
Courtney Thomas 1-3; Rachel Pike 0-1). Fouled outWheeling Jesuit-None,
Charleston-Lisa Lee. Rebounds-Wheeling Jesuit 31 (Sarah Setcavage 15),
Charleston 37 (Lisa Lee 8). Assists-Wheeling Jesuit 23 (Jenna Johnson 9),
Charleston 25 (Erica McElroy 11). Total fouls-Wheeling Jesuit 18, Charleston
18.