MADISON, Wis. - Edgewood College's women's basketball seniors were not going to be denied on their day. Trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half, the Eagles' three senior guards, Rachel Pope, Zoey Dougherty and Jazmin Little, put on a backcourt clinic to pull out a thrilling 65-62 Senior Day victory over Aurora University. All three seniors scored in double figures and freshman Allison Gordon led the way with 19 points. Edgewood College ends the season with a record of 7-18, 6-14 NACC.
After a three-point basket by the Spartans' Mallory Cast gave Aurora University (15-10, 14-6 NACC) a 46-35 lead midway through the third period, the Eagles began to turn the game around by attacking the basket. Pope and Gordon scored back-to-back three-point plays to fire up the home crowd and cut the lead in half. Two possessions later, Little scored a three-point play of her own and followed it with another bucket to complete an 11-2 run and put the Eagles back in the game.
However, Aurora opened the fourth quarter with another Cast three-pointer. It was hard to imagine at the time, but that would be Aurora's final field goal of the game. With 6:12 to play Bethany Dorrington, who put on a show in her own right, made a pair of free throws for a 61-54 Spartans' lead. At the four minute mark, it was Dougherty's turn to make a play. The senior from Menasha, stripped Cast and drove the length of the floor for a layup. Pope followed with a jumper and the Eagles trailed 61-58. After Aurora's Anna Roszkowski made one of two free throw attempts. Little fed Pope for a layup and the Eagles were within two at 62-60.
Edgewood College forced a Dorrington miss on the other end and Gordon stepped up with the biggest shot of her short career, burying an 18-foot jumper to tie the game at 62-62 just shy of the two-minute mark. The Eagles forced another miss and Dougherty was fouled by Cast to send her to the line with 1:10 left to play. Dougherty calmly sank two free throws to give the Eagles their first lead since the 4:40 mark of the second period at 64-62.
The two teams traded empty possessions and Aurora used their final timeout with 22 seconds left to set up a game-tying or game-winning basket. Dorrington drove the ball hard on the left wing, but found no room. She fed the ball to the middle, but the Eagles Sierra Jiran deflected the pass loose setting off a scramble for the ball. Roszkowski came away with it but found herself at an odd angle, even with the backboard with Jiran looming over her. Her off-balance attempt found the side of the rim, Jiran snared her ninth rebound of the night and the Eagles called a timeout with 1.7 seconds left. Forced to foul, the Spartans sent Pope to the line with 0.2 seconds to play. She made one of two free throws for the 1,121st and final point in her Edgewood College career, to cap the victory.
Gordon led the Eagles with 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting, but the senior trio of Pope, Little and Dougherty were the stars of the show. Pope finished with 15 points, Little scored 14 points and a team-high four assists, while Dougherty scored eight of her 10 points in the second half. Jiran pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. The Eagles shot 41.8 percent for the game and held the Spartans to a stunning 1-for-8 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Lost in the excitement, was a phenomenal game from Aurora's Dorrington. The senior guard posted a rare triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in playing 39 minutes. Cast led the Spartans with 18 points, going 5-for-10 from the three-point line, while Roszkowski totaled 13 points. Aurora was shooting 43.9 percent heading into the fourth quarter, but finished at 38.8 percent for the game.
Edgewood College season ends with a record of 7-18, 6-14 NACC.
