COLUMBUS, Ohio – For a second consecutive game, Ohio Dominican's women's basketball team trailed by one in the waning seconds, and for the second time sophomore guard Kacee Hockenberry (Haviland, Ohio) delivered the clutch basket as the Panthers won a thrilling 66-65 game at Urbana Saturday.

Down 65-64 after a three-point play by the Blue Knights with 31 seconds left, Hockenberry answered with a lay-in off of a feed from junior Katelyn Stuckey (Millersburg, Ohio) to put the Panthers up by one with 22 ticks left.

ODU forced a missed jump shot and grabbed the rebound, but missed a free throw on the other end to give Urbana one final chance to win. The last second three-pointer by Urbana's Kennedy Boggs was off-target, though, sealing the victory for ODU.

The Panthers improved to 3-0 on the campaign and have now won eight straight non-conference games. Urbana fell to 1-2 with the setback.

Stuckey had a career-night, finishing with a personal-best 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. She was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Paige Stought (Pickerington, Ohio), who also set a career-high with 16 points in 21 minutes off the bench.

Hockenberry, meanwhile, tallied 11points and also grabbed a career-best nine boards, while freshman forward Melissa Scherpenberg (Cincinnati, Ohio) hauled down nine rebounds for a second straight game.

The Panthers used a 16-2 first half run to build their biggest lead of the game, 26-15, with just over seven minutes left in the frame. Stuckey and Stought each scored five points during that burst, which was capped by a Hockenberry jumper in the lane.

Urbana, though, clawed back into the game, cutting its deficit to 34-30 on a three-point play with 10 seconds left before half.

The Blue Knights would take their first lead of the second half just three minutes into play, 40-38, on a fastbreak bucket, before ODU answered with a 7-1 run to go back on top, 45-41, on a Stought triple. The Panthers would eventually go in front by five, 53-48, after consecutive buckets from Stuckey, but that lead was quickly erased on seven straight points by Urbana.

Neither side led by more than three over the final 7:33 of play. Hockenberry made a pair of free throws with 51 seconds left, giving the Panthers a 64-62 edge, before Urbana came back with its three-point play with 31 ticks to take its final lead.

ODU shook off some early-season shooting woes as the Panthers hit on 46.3 percent (25-of-54) of their field goal attempts. The Panthers also out-rebounded their third straight opponent, with ODU finishing with a 46-37 edge on the boards, and out-scored the Blue Knights 36-22 in the paint. That helped offset the Panthers' 31 turnovers.

Stuckey's previous career-high in scoring was 18 points against Ferris State last season, and both her and Hockenberry have scored in double figures in each of the first two games to lead the Panthers.

The Panthers are off for Thanksgiving break and will start GLIAC play on Thursday, Nov. 29 with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against Saginaw Valley in Alumni Hall.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu