Kansas Wesleyan used a big third quarter and a solid fourth defensively to hold on for a 53-51 win over Oklahoma Wesleyan on Wednesday night inside Mabee Arena.
The game came down to a final shot by OKWU which was missed badly and Kelcey Hinz (SR/Whitewater, Kan.) would grab the rebound as time expired giving the Coyotes their third win in a row heading into Saturday's match up at Ottawa.
Points were at a premium for both teams in the game, as both ended the contest shooting 33 percent from the field, with the Coyotes holding a brief advantage shooting 33.9 percent compared to the Eagles' 33.3 percent.
"We talked about how tonight wasn't our night offensively, even though we found a way in the third quarter, and we did just enough in the fourth," KWU head coach Ryan Showman said. "But our defense tonight was incredible. To hold a team like this to 33 percent shooting, 28 percent from 3, and 51 total points, that's a credit to the team and their locked in mindset defensively."
KWU's effort of the defensive end was phenomenal against a team that likes to shoot the 3-point shot, as KWU held OKWU to just 28.6 percent shooting from 3, including 3 of 12 in the second half for just 25 percent.
Oklahoma Wesleyan had a look at the final shot of the game, inbounding the ball in its own half with 14.6 seconds left. The ball was loose at the top of the circle, but the Eagles found a wide open Antonia Porter who missed the shot badly and Hinz grabbed the rebound as the clock ran out securing the win for the Coyotes.
Showman was proud of his team's effort on the final sequence.
"At this point in the season you have to go make a play," he said. "They knew we were going to be in man (defense), they had a play drawn up and it was 'us against you'. Our defense stepped up when they needed to and won that possession and ultimately won the game."
The teams combined for only seven points over the first seven and a half minutes of the game which included a three and a half minute period where no one scored until OKWU's River Jeffries hit a shot with 2:27 left in the first to make it 6-3.
OKWU led 11-5 when Emily Rank (SR/Kansas City, Kan.) scored and was fouled as time expired in the first, cutting the difference to four after a quarter.
The Coyotes fell behind by as many as seven points in the second, 16-9, but used an 8-2 run to get back within a point at 18-17 on Catherine Bowman (FR/Bucklin, Kan.)'s bucket with 6:04 left in the half.
The Eagles took a 27-24 lead into the half.
The third quarter was pivotal for the Coyotes, who grabbed their first lead of the game with 6:44 left in the period on a bucket by Amanda Hill (SR/Rossville, Kan.) that made it 30-29. She would follow with a 3 that gave the Coyotes a 33-29 lead, capping a 9-2 run to start the quarter.
A free throw by Bowman with 35 seconds left in the third gave the Coyotes a 44-34 lead, their biggest of the night.
KWU led 50-42 with four minutes left in the fourth, but OKWU would cut to difference to a point with 42 seconds left. Hinz would hit 1 of 2 free throws to give KWU a 53-51 lead with 14.6 left setting up the wild finish.
"This was every bit of a late January basketball game in this conference," Showman said.
Amanda Hill led the Coyotes with 16 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Hinz did pick up the double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds as KWU outrebounded OKWU 46-37 in the game.
Hill needs just six points to become Wesleyan's all-time scoring leader in women's program history. Hill has 1563 points after her 16 against OKWU. She'll surpass the record of 1568 set in 1985 by Coyote Hall of Famer Joedy Zimmerman in the era of basketball before the 3-point shot.
The Coyotes will return back to Mabee Arena on Monday hosting Southwestern after Saturday's Ottawa contest.