Trojans fall in overtime to Judson
Greg Gorham
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DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Freshman Airelle Miree scored a career-high nine points, including a game-tying layup at the end of regulation, but the Trinity International Trojans ran out of gas in the overtime period, falling to the Judson Eagles 59-54. Senior Clarissa Woodard led the Trojans with her third double-double of the year, picking up a game-high 21 points along with 10 rebounds on the night.
The Trojans' (3-8, 0-5 CCAC) offense was slow to start, as Woodard scored the team's first field goal at the 13:23 mark of the first half. Judson (6-6, 2-1 CCAC) jumped out to a 10-2 lead at that point, but TIU answered with a 12-4 run of their own, highlighted by three-pointers from Montanique Washington and Woodard. The run closed the Eagles' lead to 14-13 with 7:20 to play in the first half, before Abigail Hemmeger put her team ahead for the first time in the game with a jumper off the JU turnover.
TIU would stretch their lead to as much as nine points late in the first half, outscoring Judson 23-4 over a 13-minute stretch. The Trojans would go into halftime with a 25-17 lead, benefitting from 18 points off 17 Judson first-half turnovers. Woodard posted 16 of her 21 points before the half to lead all scorers.
A layup from Daja Johnson gave Trinity their biggest lead of the night, as the Trojans led 29-17 with 17:01 to play. Judson closed the gap however, forcing ten turnovers in the second half as their full-court press began to gain momentum. A 10-2 run for the Eagles made it a four-point difference at the 13:42 mark, then JU's Diamond Williams cut the Trojan advantage to three with her layup just 90 seconds later.
Stretching their lead back out midway through the second half, the Trojans scored eight of the next nine points, capped off by Basha Ramsey's put-back after a Trojan missed free throw to put TIU ahead 41-32. Judson answered from long-range knocking down a trio of three-pointers over the next few possessions to suddenly tie the game at 44-44 with 6:24 to play.
Both sides traded one-possession leads the rest of the way through regulation, before Emily Ragsdale's layup with 13 seconds remaining gave Judson a 50-48 edge. Hemmeger had a look at the game-tying shot in the closing seconds, but after her shot missed the mark, Miree was there to pick up the loose ball and toss up a buzzer-beating floater to tie the game at the end of regulation.
Needing to work through the overtime period with a shortened bench, due to Ramsey fouling out of the game earlier, the Trojans fell behind 56-50 after the Eagles scored on their first three possessions. Miree would knock down a pair of shots, twice cutting the lead down to four, but the TIU defense was unable to get a stop down the stretch as the Eagles closed out the game.
Woodard finished as the only Trojan in double-figures, as Miree scored nine, and Washington and Hemmeger finished with eight points apiece. Washington, one of the NAIA's leaders in steals, picked off five on the night, matching her career high.
The Trojans return home for one last game before the New Year, as TIU hosts Robert Morris in a CCAC matchup on Saturday, December 21. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
