The Cleveland State Lady Cougars closed out their regular season on a high note with a win in their road contest at Southwest Tennessee, 95-91 in overtime, on Saturday.
Michaela Bennefield, who scored 29 points and also had six rebounds and six steals, made a three-point shot in the final moments to tie the game and send Cleveland State into overtime. Jordan Smith also scored 17 points and recorded four assists and one steal.
She also sank two crucial free throws with 6.5 seconds to go in overtime to secure the win.
Three other Lady Cougars scored double figures, with Hannah Phillips, Charisma Barner, and Kaitlin Crump scoring 14, 14, and 10 points, respectively.
Cleveland State as a whole had 28 offensive rebounds.
"I cannot say enough about the effort that out team gave these past two games," Head Coach Evelyn Thompson said. "It was so wonderful to see them fighting and playing together as a team, and trusting the process."
The Lady Cougars will next play in the TCCAA Conference Tournament March 1-5 at Cleveland State. The seed is to be determined.
In the men's game, the Cougars fell 63-57 to the Saluqis of Southwest Tennessee on Saturday night in their regular season finale.
Despite the team's offense struggles as a whole, Dalaino Walker put together a nice night as he scored 20 points and pulled down five rebounds. Maurice Dickson also had eight points and four rebounds.
Cleveland State will enter into the conference tournament on their home floor March 1-5.