COLUMBUS, Ohio – Junior guard Kacee Hockenberry (Haviland, Ohio) hit the game-tying jumper with 27 seconds left in regulation and scored seven points in overtime to help lift Ohio Dominican's women's basketball team to a 79-72 victory over Findlay Thursday night in Alumni Hall.

The win snapped a five-game losing skid for the Panthers (5-8, 2-7 GLIAC), in which they had lost their last three games by just 13 total points.

The Panthers led by eight points, 59-51, with 6:12 left in regulation after freshman guard Lauren Bates (Hilliard, Ohio) knocked down a jumper. Findlay (6-7, 3-6 GLIAC) responded with an 11-1 run, though, grabbing a 62-60 lead on a made three-pointer with 2:25 left.

The Panthers committed a turnover and missed two field goals, but got the stops they needed to get the ball back with 46 seconds left. After taking a timeout, Hockenberry – who finished with career-highs in points (29) and assists (seven) – drove into the paint and connected on her short jumper to knot the score at 62.

Findlay missed a three-pointer with six seconds, and the rebound was knocked out of bounds to send the game into overtime.

The Oilers scored the first bucket in the extra period, but it was all Panthers from that point on, doing almost all of their damage at the free throw line. Hockenberry had a three-point play – the lone field goal of the overtime for ODU – as the Panthers went 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) from the stripe to close it out.

Bates sank two freebies with 3:24 left to give ODU a 67-66 lead, and more free throws by Hockenberry, freshman forward Madi Rittinger (Dayton, Ohio) and junior guard Micaela Liddane (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) extended the lead to 74-67 with just 44 seconds left, effectively sealing the game.

Hockenberry's buckets at the end of regulation and the start of overtime were the only two field goals for the Panthers in the final 11:12 of the game.

Rittinger notched her first collegiate double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench and sophomore forward Melissa Scherpenberg (Cincinnati, Ohio) pulled down 16 rebounds. Bates finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Overall, the Panthers had a 56-31 advantage in rebounding, shot 46.2 percent from the field (24-of-52) and went 29-of-35 (82.9 percent) from the free throw line to help offset 28 turnovers.

The Panthers held Findlay to just 32.0 percent shooting (24-of-75) and 21.9 percent from the three-point line (7-of-32).

ODU had a strong first half against start against Findlay and led by as much as eight at 34-26 on a transition layup by freshman guard Tori Beth Leader (West Portsmouth, Ohio) with 2:52 to play. The Oilers drew within 34-32 on a pair of three-pointers, but consecutive jumpers by freshman guard Kayla Cook (Westerville, Ohio) sent the home team into the break with a 38-32 lead.

The Panthers shot 56.3 percent from the field in the first half, knocking down 18-of-32 shots, and scored 10 fast break points.

Findlay grabbed a brief 42-41 lead with 13:47 to play in the second half, but ODU controlled the next seven minutes, leading 53-46 on Rittinger's layup with just under eight minutes left and matching its biggest lead of the game at eight on the Bates jumper with just over six minutes to play.

Ohio Dominican remains at home to play host to Hillsdale at 1 p.m. Saturday in Alumni Hall.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu