QUINCY, ILL. – Mikal Bencomo hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Maryville (Mo.) University an 85-82 win over the Iowa Wesleyan College women’s basketball team in the consolation game of the Quincy University Subway Tipoff Tournament Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers suffered their second straight wrenching loss in the tourney, seeing an 11-point lead go away late in the second half after losing in overtime the night before to the host school and nationally ranked Quincy. IWC dropped to 2-4 on the season, with three of its four losses coming against teams that participated in the postseason last year.
The Saints, who participated in the NCAA Division III national tourney last year and are transitioning to NCAA Division II, came back after trailing 75-64 with less than six minutes remaining in the game. Maryville had just tied the game with two free throws with 18 seconds left and got the ball back after an IWC turnover with two seconds left in the game.
IWC led much of the game, taking an 8-0 lead out of the gates and holding the lead for much of the first half. Maryville took a brief lead midway through the half but the Tigers regained the lead and went to halftime with a 43-39 lead.
The teams swapped the lead a few times early in the half, but Wesleyan gained control again by going on an 18-6 run. Sherry Zehner (Sr.-St. Louis, Mo.) scored seven straight points including a three-pointer, and IWC took a 69-58 lead with 10:13 left in the game. The Tigers led by 11 points on three different occasions before Maryville went on a run to get back into the game and set up a frantic stretch run in which the teams swapped the lead three times and were tied three other times.
Jessi Beachey (Jr.-Fisher, Ill.) had her third straight 20+ point game, patrolling the inside with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Jill Ginder (Jr.-Olney, Ill.) added 15 points and six assists before fouling out. Zehner added 11 points off the bench and Sheray Brown (Jr.-Detroit, Mich.) tied Beachey for game-high honors with 11 rebounds.
IWC shot 42.2% (27-for-64) for the game, following a solid first half (14-29, 48.3%) by cooling off in the second half (13-35, 37.1%). The Tigers out-rebounded the Saints but committed 29 turnovers and hit just 3 of 14 three-point attempts. Wesleyan did make 25 of 32 free throws (78.1%) and benefitted from 22 turnovers from Maryville, which improved to 1-2 this year.
The Tigers’ schedule gets no easier in the next week. IWC will travel to face the NCAA Division I University of South Dakota on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Tigers then finally get to play their home opener on Friday and will put their 25-game homecourt win streak on the line against Jamestown (N.D.) College, ranked 6th in the initial NAIA Division II poll of the season. Game time Friday at Ruble Arena will be 5:30 p.m.
Box score Maryville 85 IWC 82
