Bryan College JV (6-2)
Fisher 9, Sells 15, Campbell 2, Hopkins 12, Thomas 14, Harvey, Griffin, Wade 6
Georgia Northwestern (7-5)
Phillips, Bethune 3, Clark 8, Carr, Harvey 32, Lewis, DeSalvo 12
The last time the Georgia Northwestern Lady Bobcats faced the JV squad from nearby Bryan College, just over two weeks ago, things didn't go as well for the Navy-and-Silver.
Playing on the road in Dayton, Tenn., the Lady Bobcats were on the wrong end of an 86-54 defeat.
Back at home at the Rossville Athletic Center on Monday night, Georgia Northwestern would get a shot at redemption...and they almost pulled it off.
Despite a career-high 32 points from freshman Tori Harvey, the Lady Lions would eke out a 58-55 overtime victory. Bryan improved to 6-2 overall, while the Lady Bobcats fell to 7-5.
The Lady Lions took a five-point lead at the end of the first quarter and stretched it out to as much as nine in the second period.
Georgia Northwestern would cut the lead down to 29-23 at halftime, but the Lady Lions would push their advantage back to nine points, 37-28, with just over three minutes to play in the third quarter.
However, the Lady Bobcats turned up the defensive intensity and reeled off a 12-2 run to end the period. Harvey capped the run with a coast-to-coast drive and beat the buzzer with a lay-up, slicing the lead down to 40-39.
A 3-pointer by Harvey with 9:01 left to play would give the home team a 42-41 lead, their first since early in the first quarter. Christina DeSalvo would bury a trey from the corner with 4:14 to go and Harvey would make 1-of-2 free throws with two minutes remaining to give Georgia Northwestern its biggest lead, 48-42.
But the Lady Lions, who did not make a single field goal in the first 8:35 of the fourth quarter got back-to-back 3-pointers by Marlee Sells, the last coming with 57 seconds to go, which tied the score at 48.
Harvey would be stripped of the ball on her way to the hoop as the clock ticked down under 10 seconds to play and Bryan would get one final look at a game-winner 3-pointer, but the shot was off the mark, sending the game to overtime.
Georgia Northwestern took a two-point lead on a bucket by Mia Clark following a nice pass by DeSalvo in transition. But Bryan would answer with back-to-back buckets before Morgan Hopkins found just enough separation to bury a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left, giving her team a 55-50 lead.
Harvey would sink two free throws seconds later, cutting the lead down to three, and following two free throws by Sells, Harvey connected from the top of the key to cut Bryan's lead down to 57-55 with 19.6 seconds to go.
Sells missed an opportunity to put the game away with 17.3 seconds left as she hit just 1-of-2 free throw attempts, giving the Lady Bobcats one final look at a 3-pointer to extend the game to a second overtime. However Harvey's shot was deflected and Bryan was able to fire the ball upcourt and run out the clock.
Harvey had 11 rebounds to go with her 32 points. DeSalvo finished with 12 points and four rebounds, while Clark finished with eight points. Taylor Bethune scored the other three points for the Lady Bobcats and added six rebounds. Katy Phillips did not score, but was able to pull down seven boards.
Sells had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead Bryan. Baylee Thomas added 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Hopkins had 12 points and eight boards.
The Lady Bobcats will get back to action on Thursday with a game at Judson College (Ala.). They will return home on Saturday to face Toccoa Falls College at 3 p.m.