STORM LAKE, Iowa (Nov. 22, 2022) - For the second straight game, the Buena Vista women's basketball team was able to overcome a 13-point deficit as it rallied in the second half to win a 72-69 thriller over Crown College inside of Siebens Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.
Sophomore
McKenna Cone turned in a career-high 25 points, including a pair of big free-throws inside of the game's final 20 seconds that gave BVU a 70-67 lead. She finished the game shooting 10-o-14 from the field and 5-of-7 at the free-throw line. Senior
Vanessa Hamlett added 11 points and seven rebounds,
Danika Demers eight points, five assists and three steals, and
Maddie Hilgendorf eight points and four boards.
As a team, the Beavers shot 43 percent from the field and was over 50 percent in both the third and fourth quarters. It was held to just 2-of-12 from long distance but stepped up and made 18-of-24 attempts at the charity stripe.
The Polars held a slim 19-18 lead after the first quarter before BVU went cold in the second and was held to just nine points as Crown took a 33-23 lead into the break. The Polars would go on to build their largest lead of the contest (47-34) with just under four minutes left in the third quarter. A layup from Hilgendorf on the ensuing possession would help spark a 11-2 surge to close the frame and get BVU within 49-45 heading to the fourth. Hamlett made a jumper two minutes into the quarter that gave the Beavers their first lead since the first quarter. There were then six lead changes over the next two minutes.
Crown held a 67-66 advantage with under two minutes to play before Hamlett calmly stepped to the line and swished home a pair to put BVU back in front at 68-67 with 42 seconds left. BVU then came up with a defensive stop at the other end of the court before Cone was fouled and she went on to make both attempts for a three-point lead. The Polars went to the line with nine seconds to play and made both tried to get back within one, but would not score again as Demers made a pair of free-throws to bump the margin to the final score as the Polars turned the ball over on their final push up the court.
Madi Hecox led Crown (1-2) with 25 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Buena Vista improves to 3-2 on the year. The Beavers now head out to Colorado Springs, Colo., to take part in the Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by Colorado College on Nov. 25-26. The team will face Sarah Lawrence on Friday a 2 p.m. (CST) before playing Colorado College on Saturday.
