Kelcey Hinz (SR/Whitewater, Kan.) knew there was one thing she had to do and had to do it in a hurry.
The game tied and the final seconds ticking off the clock Hinz grabbed a blocked shot under the basket, turned and put the ball up and off the glass. Fortunately for her, her Kansas Wesleyan teammates and coaches the ball went through the basket just as her previous nine shots had done.
Fouled on the play Hinz also made the free throw with 2 seconds left allowing the Coyotes to escape with a harrowing 76-73 victory over University Health Sciences and Pharmacy-St. Louis in a game in the Coyote Classic Friday night inside Mabee Arena.
Hinz finished the game one rebound shy of a triple double – 28 points on 10 of 10 shooting, a career-best 10 blocks and nine rebounds. It was her second magnificent outing in two games this season after she had 18 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in the Coyotes' 68-62 victory over Columbia College last Friday.
Her 10 blocks also ties the Kansas Wesleyan school record for blocks in a game set by Kristen Crittenden on December 2, 2004, against Friends University.
"I had no idea how much time was on the shot clock or the scoreboard," Hinz said. "I was like get the ball put it in the basket. That was the whole plan."
Hinz's heroics rescued the Coyotes (2-0) after they fell behind 64-57 with 7 minutes left in the game. KWU led 54-53 after three quarters but the Eutectics went on an 11-2 run punctuated by three consecutive 3-pointers – two by Grace Beyer, who scored a game-high 29 points and was 6 of 10 beyond the 3-point arc.
UHSP was 14 of 28 from deep for the game, 7 of 14 the first half. The Eutectics made six 3-pointers in the first quarter.
Hinz scored 11 the first half as KWU took a 37-34 lead into intermission.
"Phenomenal, she was absolutely phenomenal," KWU coach Ryan Showman said of Hinz. "If you were to define Kelcey Hinz in a dictionary it would be that type of a performance. She got rebounds, she helped get stops, she finished big baskets, we went to her when we needed buckets and she gave us the game winner.
"I couldn't be more proud of our team but I'm so proud of the effort that she gave."
Gabby Mureeba (JR/Allen, Texas) had a big night as well finishing with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Kaleigh Hanzlick (SR/Hoisington, Kan.), Catherine Bowman (FR/Bucklin, Kan.) and Caila Hill (JR/Rossville, Kan.) scored eight points apiece as KWU shot 47.5 percent from the field (29 of 61).
The Coyotes forced 18 turnovers that led to 19 points while committing just eight turnovers themselves.
Showman was pleased with his team's resilience down the stretch.
"I thought we had a few moments of defeat on faces but we snapped out of it," he said. "We were able to get refocused, recenter on defense, get stops and turn those into positive plays on offense."
Hinz saw pluses and minuses in the game.
"It shows how hard we've worked and how hard we have to work more," she said. "We didn't play our best in the first half and I think we knew that. But we fought hard and we're ready to go show it tomorrow (against Evangel)."
Faith Oliver added 18 points and 11 rebounds for UHSP, which shot 46 percent (27 of 59) and outrebounded the Coyotes 39-32.
"They did an amazing job tonight," Showman said of UHSP. "They had a lead and we just got a few more stops and made a few more plays down the stretch. That's a good basketball team that's going to win some games this year."