Eutectics avoid upset; hold off HLGU in OT

HANNIBAL, MO - Grace Beyer poured in 29 points, 11 of which came in overtime as the Eutectics survived a major road scare and hung on to beat Hannibal-LaGrange 66-59 in OT.

Trailing 47-41 heading to the fourth, HLGU outscored the Purple and Gold 14-8 in the final quarter of regulation to force overtime. In the opening minute of the fourth, Beyer drilled a three that put UHSP on top 50-43, but the Eutectics went scoreless over the next 5:16 as Hannibal-LaGrange put the deficit down to one at 50-49. Karsyn Morgan hit a three that made it a two-possession game and Arianna Buduan hit a layup that built the lead to 55-49 with 2:41 to go. But Ivy Leslie made a layup followed by a three from Candice Dowell and a foul shot by Ashlyn Vermeer as the Trojans knotted things up at 55-all. Both teams and a chance to win it in the waning seconds of regulation. Beyer missed an off-balance jumper from the right side of the lane with eight seconds left. Allison Whittle got the rebound for Hannibal-LaGrange and Vermeer got out in front of Ellie Creasey down floor. Vermeer took an outlet pass with no one in front of her, but missed what would have a been a game-winning layup with :01.5 left.

The Trojans took an early lead in the game going up 20-13 after one quarter. Ivy Leslie gave HLGU a 10-point lead early in the second quarter with a three-pointer, but UHSP's Alivia Simily quickly answered that. Arianna Buduan led a 3-for-2 exchange with another three to follow a Trojan layup as Hannibal-LaGrange led 25-19 with 8:08 left in the half. Caroliena Diaz would hit a layup and later in the half a foul shot to bring UHSP to within three at 25-22 with just under four minutes gone by. Late in the half, it would be Beyer that scored five straight points followed by an Ellie Creasey triple that would eventually tie the score at 32-32 going into halftime.

Early in the third, Ashlyn Vermeer briefly put the home club back up two until Karsyn Morgan gave UHSP their first lead of the day with a perimeter shot just 1:12 into the third. Morgan would drill another triple :30 seconds later to put UHSP up four at 38-34. A Beyer layup built the lead to six forcing Hannibal-LaGrange into a timeout. The lead would not grow any larger than six the remainder of the period, but Beyer made sure it was a six-point game heading to the fourth with a pair of free throws late to make it 47-41.

In the overtime session, Vermeer gave HLGU a quick two-point lead, but UHSP responded with seven straight, all from Beyer, to jump on top 62-57 with 1:42 left in OT. Beyer scored all the Eutectics' points in overtime as UHSP downed HLGU for the fourth straight time and tenth in the last 12 meetings.

Grace Beyer recorded eight rebounds, six assists and two steals to go along with her game-high in points while Karsyn Morgan scored 14 points while connecting and four three-pointers. Sara Hameed dished out a game-high seven assists and added five rebounds. Ashlyn Vermeer led Hannibal-LaGrange with 25 points and eight boards and Ivy Lesley added 17 points and nine rebounds. Neither team shot the ball particularly well with the home club connecting at a 36.7% clip and the visitors at just 32.4%. The three-point line provided a huge disparity as UHSP unloaded 34 threes making 12, while the Trojans were 4-of-14. UHSP got outrebounded 39-33, but only committed nine turnovers to 16 for HLGU.

The Eutectics (11-8, 6-3) are now halfway through a four-game road swing which continues on Thursday at Harris-Stowe State University as USHP begins the second cycle through the AMC slate. The Eutectics downed the Hornets 88-62 back on Jan. 4. Then next Saturday it is a huge matchup against Stephens College.