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Western Illinois University Athletics

Sam Pryor
NDSU Athletics
79
Winner Western Ill. WIU 7-8,1-1 Summit League
78
North Dakota St. NDSU 3-11,0-2 Summit League
Winner
Western Ill. WIU
7-8,1-1 Summit League
79
Final
78
North Dakota St. NDSU
3-11,0-2 Summit League
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 OT 2 F
Western Ill. WIU 20 18 11 11 8 11 79
North Dakota St. NDSU 12 19 16 13 8 10 78

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Pryor Secures Double-Overtime Victory

Sam Pryor with back-to-back baskets last second baskets to defeat NDSU in double OT

FARGO, N.D. - Western Illinois women's basketball kicked off Summit League road competition Thursday (Jan. 2) night defeating the North Dakota State Bison in double overtime secured by Sam Pryor's back-to-back last-minute baskets (79-78).

"We made a couple of really big plays," said head coach JD Gravina. "These things are tough; we probably lost that game three times and won it once. Sam Pryor just made two, the shot to tie it was unreal, and  to have the confidence to shoot the three, that is who Sam is."

Carla Flores, with her first career start, scored four points in the first five minutes of the game. Quickly followed by a 9-0 WIU run, allowing the Leathernecks to secure a 20-12 first-quarter start.

The Leathernecks continued to push ahead at the beginning of the second. Until the Bison closed in, putting the score within four points with three minutes left in half. Sam Pryor hit two back-to-back baskets to stop the Bison drive as Evan Zars finished the half with a jump shot for a 38-31 lead.

With a slow start to the second half for WIU, the Bison were able to tie up the score for the first time in the game with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Flores hit a jumper in the first seconds of the fourth quarter challenged by a 6-0 Bison run as they took their first lead of the game. A two-minute scoring stalemate ended a back and forth battle followed by a 4-0 WIU drive. Western Illinois held on to its four-point lead with two minutes of regulation remaining. But, the Bison answered with a four-point run of their own, sending the game into overtime.

Danni Nichols drew a foul and made both free throws to kick off overtime and put Western Illinois back on top, but the Leathernecks found themselves down again with one-minute remaining on the clock. Kauffman hit a layup putting the Leathernecks within one, and with four seconds left on the clock, the Bison answered back to extend their lead to 68-66. Coach Gravina called a timeout to advance the ball, and Pryor hit a buzzer-beating basket to send the Leathernecks into double overtime.

With five minutes returning to the clock, the Bison gained a five-point lead. WIU continued to chip away as Pryor hit another last-minute basket to secure the one-point win for WIU.

"I just really wanted us to win this game," said Pryor. "None of those plays would have happened without my teammates around me. These conference games are a huge deal, so we know how important it is to win."

Four Leathernecks scored double digits in the overtime battle led by Kaufmann with 19 as well as Zars (17), Flores (14), and Pryor (13). Zars and Kauffman also recorded double-doubles recording 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively.

With Kauffman's 19 points, she only needs eight to notch her 1,000th career point milestone.

The Leathernecks will continue their first week on the road in Summit League competition as they take on South Dakota State Saturday (Jan. 4) at 2:00 p.m.
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