Lady Bearcats Fall in Fourth Quarter Shootout to Shawnee State

Elise Williams would get the scoring started for the Bearcats in this conference shoot-out. Courtney Peyton followed on the next possession with a jump shot outside the paint to give the Bearcats a four-point lead. It wasn't long until the Bears would come back to tie it on a free throw and three-pointer combo. The Lady Bearcats continued to dominate over the Bears as they held the lead majority of the first quarter. The Bears took their first lead of the night on an offensive rebound putback that gave them the two-point advantage going into the next quarter.

The Bearcats struggled with turnovers in back-to-back possessions that pushed the Bears' lead to six. Lindsey Peyton would break the scoreless minutes for the Bearcats as she put the ball in the basket for an elbow shot. Each team remained scoreless as the defenses ramped up trying to get the ball back for their team. Madelyn Lyon would bust open the silence on her layup down in the paint. With four minutes to go in the second, BU looked to close the four-point gap before half. Lyon would grab the offensive board on a blocked shot and put the ball back up for her two made basket of the night. Down by two, Elise Williams would get fouled driving to the basket to put her on the line for two shots. Willliams would sink both shots to now tie the game at 19 apiece. Shawnee State would not go quietly as a made three and another foul called on the Bearcats would give the Bears a five-point lead heading into halftime.

As the starters get back out on the floor for the second half, the Bearcats looked to pressure the Bears' offense into making mistakes. A steal by Paige Vanzant would get the Bearcats on the board first as Lindsey Peyton gets the fastbreak layup to go. Back-to-back fouls by the Bear defense would put the Bearcats on the line on consecutive possessions. Courtney Peyton would knock down her two shots to tie the game for a second time. Shawnee State began to pull away late in the third quarter as the Bearcats struggled to finish at the rack. Another made three by the Bears' offense would stretch the lead out to five in the final minute of the third. Raquel Crooke-Losada would get fouled dribbling to the rim to put her at the charity stripe for two. Crooke-Losada would make one of her two free throws with 22 seconds left on the clock. A turnover by the Bears would give possession to the Bearcats for one last shot. With the time winding down quickly, Paige Vanzant would drive the ball through defenders and put the ball high off the glass for the buzzer beater layup.

With 10 minutes left in this matchup, the fourth quarter was nothing short of exciting. The Bears would come out shooting as a deep three would give Shawnee a five-point advantage. Back-to-back-to-back wide-open layups for Courtney Peyton would get the Bearcats within two of the lead. The Bearcats were not going down without a fight as they traded baskets with the Bears. Shawnee State would give the Bearcats to tie the game yet a third time on a turnover from a bad pass. Crooke-Losada would do just that for the Bearcats on her floater through defenders. With under three-minutes to go in regulation, Genesis Ghide-Bryan would get fouled going to the hoop where she would earn herself two free shots. The two made free throws by the freshman would give the Bearcats their first lead since the first quarter. Ghide-Bryan would get another quick basket to go to put the Bearcats up by three with under a minute to go in the fourth. A costly turnover by the Bearcats on the inbounds would give the Bears a chance to win the game. A missed layup and an offensive putback would give Shawnee State the lead with one second left on the clock. The Bearcats had no chance to get another shot up as they dropped the contest, 48-47.

Courtney Peyton led the scoring for the Bearcats with nine points and five rebound as three other Bearcats end with seven points (Raquel Crooke-Losada, Genesis Ghide-Bryan, and Madelyn Lyon.

The Lady Bearcats stay home for the weekend as they take on Point Park this Saturday with a tipoff time of 1pm CT.