Women's basketball earns overtime win against Berea, 83-78
Wilmore, KY - In a back-and-forth game featuring nine lead changes, Asbury would get clutch plays down the stretch in overtime to earn their first win over Berea College since 2003, 83-78.
Trailing 78-77 in the overtime, the Eagles' Amanda Bechtel forced a turnover in the backcourt, earning foul shots at the other end. Bechtel would make the first free throw but would miss the second, only to see teammate Lindsey Wood grab the rebound and convert the putback for an 80-78 lead. Staying tough on the defensive end, the Eagles would force another turnover on the next Berea possession this time by Sarah Yates, who would also go back to the line and push the lead to four eventually resulting in the final margin.
The Eagles also got help from unlikely sources in freshmen Amanda Bechtel and Allison Smith. The duo combined for 28 points, including 11-of-16 from the line by Bechtel and 6-of-9 from the field by Smith. The duo had only averaged just under five points a game before Saturday. Bechtel and Wood led the team in scoring with 15 points apiece and were joined in double figures by three other players - Anna Stephenson (14), Allison Smith (13), and Brittany Abbott (10).
The win puts Asbury at 1-1 in KIAC play, 8-9 overall and results in back-to-back wins over Kentucky Christian and Berea for the first time in a same, five-day period back in 2003. The team will next face defending KIAC champion, Alice Lloyd College on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. The game is the first part of a women's & men's doubleheader. Both games can be heard on WACW, Asbury College athletics home on the internet.
