BOWLING GREEN, Ky. ? Amy McNear’s game-winning layup with 0.7 seconds remaining in overtime gave Western Kentucky a 69-67 victory Sunday afternoon over South Alabama at E.A. Diddle Arena. 

After Jag freshman Tashley Gaines tied the contest up at 67 with 6.7 seconds remaining, McNear took the inbounds pass and drove the length of the court for the basket.  For McNear, it was her second big shot of the game as the sophomore had earlier sent the contest into an extra session, when she drained a three-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

McNear led the Lady Toppers in scoring with 20 points, while Arnika Brown finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds.  Kenzie Rich also chipped in with 13 points. 

Jessica Starling notched a career-high 27 points in the loss for USA.  Her 27 points eclipsed her previous high of 25, which she set in the earlier meeting versus WKU in Mobile.  Starling was 9-of-18 from the field, including 7-of-14 from beyond the arc.  Her seven treys tied Monique Jones’ school mark for three-pointers in a game, set back on Jan. 6, 2007 against Florida Atlantic.

Ra’Shawna Sippo also recorded her eighth double-double of the season with her 10 point, 12 rebound effort.

USA (16-8, 7-6 SBC) will continue Sun Belt Conference play on Wednesday when the Lady Jags host Florida International at 7 p.m.  With the win, Western Kentucky improves to 14-9 overall and 8-5 in SBC action.

Coming out of half time, McNear put WKU out in front 24-19 on its first possession of the second stanza, but USA answered back and reclaimed the lead with a 16-2 run over the next four minutes, 11 of which were unanswered to begin the run.  Starling ignited the run with one of her seven three-pointers and Sippio followed a Jag miss with a put back to give South Alabama a 26-24 advantage.  After another Starling three-pointer with under 16 minutes to play, Sippio gave the Lady Jags their largest lead at 35-26 with another basket at the 15:29 mark.  Arnika Brown kept the Lady Toppers in the game over the next several minutes though scoring nine-straight points for Western Kentucky.

With USA still leading 44-37 after a Gaines basket at the 10:04 mark, the Lady Toppers quickly tied things back up as Rich and Hope Brown combined for WKU’s next seven points.  Brown narrowed the gap to two with a three-point play at the 8:16 mark and then after a defensive stop, Rich knotted the game back up at 44-all with a pair of free throws.

Rich continued to lead the Lady Toppers and her jumper in the lane with less than five minutes to go pushed the WKU out to a 52-48 lead, its largest lead of the second period.  USA took the lead right back less than a minute later.  Shakira Nettles, who was held in check most of the day, converted the three-point play after the junior drove the lane and was fouled.  On South Alabama’s next trip down the floor, Morriah Smith found Starling open on the wing.  The senior drained the three-pointer and put USA back out on top (57-56).  Coming out of a timeout with under a minute to go, Sippio got open under the basket and took Nettles’ pass for an uncontested layup.  The Jags were able to get the defensive stop at the other end of the floor and with seven seconds remaining, Smith was fouled.  Smith could have sealed the victory for USA, but she was unable to hit the front end of the one-and-one.  Teranie Thomas grabbed the rebound and handed the ball off to McNear who drove the ball up the floor.  South Alabama attempted to foul McNear, but was unable to. McNear’s trey from the left wing though tied the game up at 59-59 to force the extra session.

The Lady Jags got off to a great start in the opening minutes, reeling off seven straight points and holding the Lady Toppers scoreless for the first five minutes.  During that opening stretch, WKU was 0-of-9 from the field and didn’t record its first field goal until Hope Brown’s three-pointer at the 14:57 mark.  After an McNear bucket two possessions later pulled the Toppers to two, Starling drained back-to-back treys and Karina Sproal put the Jags on top 15-8 with a running one-hander in the lane at the 10:51 mark.

With South Alabama still holding an eight point advantage (19-11), after a Shaniece Brunner free throw, WKU closed the half strong with an 11-0 run.  Thomas hit three of her four opportunities at the charity stripe for WKU to start things and then off a Lady Topper offensive rebound, Rich connected on a three-pointer from the right corner with just over four minutes left in the half to trim USA’s lead to 19-17. 

After both teams came up empty on their next couple of possession, Brown gave WKU its first lead of the game with two free throws of her own with just over a minute to go in the half.  With time winding down, McNear got her jumper to drop and send the Lady Toppers into the locker room with the 22-19 lead.

Over the final seven-plus minutes, the Lady Toppers held USA without a field goal, missing seven straight shots to end the half.  South Alabama was also just 1-for-11 from the field over the final 10 minutes

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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