EUREKA, Ill. - The Rockford University women's basketball team picked up its first win of the season on Saturday afternoon with a thrilling 92-87 overtime victory against the Eureka College Red Devils. The game was close throughout as neither team led by more than 5 at any point the entire afternoon. One of the main deciding factors in the game was Rockford's ability to get to the free throw line and convert. The Regents shot an impressive 84.8% at the line connecting on 28-of-33 attempts, while Eureka converted on just 11-of-26 attempts to shoot a measly 42.3%.
The game went back-and-forth for the entire first half as neither team was able to string together any sort of a sustained run. However, the Red Devils closed each of the first two quarters strong. Rockford led for much of the opening quarter, but it was Eureka that scored the final 7 points of the period to take the largest lead of the game at that point, 20-16. The Red Devil lead would not last long though as Rockford opened the second quarter on a 13-7 run to retake the lead. Freshman Taylor May (East Moline, Ill.) and senior Mallorie Getzelman (Byron, Ill.) led the charge as the two combined to score 10 of the team's 13 points. The two schools then traded buckets for the remainder of the quarter until the Red Devils closed the half on a 5-1 run to take a 41-38 lead into halftime.
Following a rough start to the third quarter, Rockford caught fire late and was able to take a 1-point lead into the fourth. The Regents outscored the Red Devils 11-6 in the final three minutes of the third as Rockford's Lexie Collins (Earlville, Ill.) jump-started the offense by draining her first three-pointer of the season. The ladies then went a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line over the final 2 minutes and 8 seconds to grab a 61-60 advantage.
Rockford would extend its lead to a game-high 5 points in the fourth until Eureka mounted a furious comeback in the closing moments. With just over 2 minutes remaining and the Regents still clinging to a 73-70 lead, the Red Devils scored four straight points to pull in front 74-73 with only 37 seconds remaining. Following a pair of missed shots, it was Rockford's Casey Pettit (Rockford, Ill.) who corralled the offensive rebound and drained a jumper to put her team back in front with just 21 seconds left. However, Eureka would not go into the night quietly as the Red Devils knocked down a three to retake the lead with only 9 seconds remaining. All hope seemed to be lost when the Regents missed a three from the corner in the closing seconds; however, Tajanae Key (Glendale Heights, Ill.) grabbed the biggest rebound of the day and laid it in to send the game to overtime.
The extra period would belong to the Regents as Rockford trailed for a total of just 16 seconds. Mallorie Getzelman took control of the game scoring 10 of Rockford's 15 points in overtime including going a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line to propel the Regents to a 92-87 win.
Getzelman continued her hot start to the season with her second straight 30-point performance. The senior led all scorers with a career-high 33 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the floor and tied the NACC record going a perfect 12-for-12 at the free throw line. Getzelman rounded out her stat line with 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 assist.
Freshman Taylor May recorded her first collegiate double-double on Saturday. May scored 14 points for the second straight game and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds.
Nicole Silvers (Bryon, Ill.) and Casey Pettit each hit double-figures for the first time this season. Silvers scored 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting and added 3 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. Pettit scored 15 of Rockford's 17 bench points while also adding 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Tajanae Key had a very solid all-around game for the Regents. Key snagged a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with 7 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.
The RU women's basketball team returns to the court on Wednesday, November 23 at Mount Mary University. Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM.
