SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – Freshman Anne Marie Wright hit a three-pointer with 5.2 seconds left Tuesday night to lift the Spring Arbor University women's basketball team over local rival Albion College 55-54 at the SAU Fieldhouse.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Spring Arbor 55, Albion 54
LOCATION: SAU Fieldhouse | Spring Arbor, Mich.
RECORDS: Spring Arbor 4-8, Albion 7-2
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Down by two, 54-52, with 15 seconds remaining in the contest, Spring Arbor took a timeout and advanced the ball to the frontcourt. Out of the timeout, Autumn Goggin drove to the basket before dishing to a wide-open Wright for the corner three.
- Albion had one last chance at a go-ahead bucket, but Sam Carter's shot came up empty and Kaitlyn Shields ripped down the rebound to secure the win.
- Albion did not trail in through the first two quarters of the game. The Britons pushed their way out to a 9-2 lead five minutes into the contest, and led by as many as 11. The Cougars clawed their way back, however, outscoring the visitors 10-1 over the final 4:18 of the second period. Goggin and Wright ignited the run with back-to-back triples, and a basket from Sara White in the final minute closed the gap to one, 23-22, at halftime.
- Spring Arbor grabbed its first lead of the night off the opening possession in the third quarter following another three from Goggin, but a late-quarter run from Albion would give the Brits a 40-36 advantage heading into the final period.
- SAU started the fourth quarter red-hot making 7-of-8 shots from the field to build a 52-45 lead with 4:48 remaining. The Cougars would be held scoreless though over the next four minutes as Albion fought its way back, regaining the lead with 1:05 to play. The Britons extended their lead to two, 54-52, after a free throw with 16 seconds left, but left the door open by only converting one of the two attempts, setting the stage for Wright's heroics.
FOR THE COUGARS
- Goggin had 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting while Wright and Rachel Nelson added 11 points apiece. Nelson also grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds to record her first career double-double.
- White hauled in a season-best 14 boards to go along with four points and five blocked shots.
- Spring Arbor shot 46 percent (23-for-50) on the night, including 58 percent (14-for-24) over the final two quarters.
- The Cougars also out-rebounded the Britons 46-40.
FOR THE BRITONS
- Three Albion players scored in double figures. Sam Carter led the way with 11 points followed by Brittany Leutz and Rain Hinton with 10 apiece.
- Albion was limited to a season-low 26 percent (18-for-69) shooting, including just 5-for-21 from three-point range.
UP NEXT
Spring Arbor will travel to Chicago for the CCAC vs. Crossroads League Classic, hosted by Roosevelt University. The Cougars will play host Roosevelt (10-4) on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. ET before taking on Robert Morris University (4-7) on Friday, Dec. 22 at 4 p.m. ET.
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