Women’s basketball defeats Mobile at the buzzer

WEST POINT, Ga. (Nov. 3, 2021) – It was an all-out defensive battle Wednesday evening inside West Point Park Gymnasium that came down to the final second to determine the winner between the Point University women's basketball team and the University of Mobile. Tied at 58 with less than a second left, Alexis Tate rebounded a missed shot from Hannah Williams and put the ball back up for a made layup to help the Skyhawks earn a 60-58 victory.

"I thought our players played to the end, and we did not give up," Head Coach Tory Wooley said. "We had a rough first half, but we found our rhythm in the third quarter. Our post players, Shey and Alexis, were special and dominated the interior. We got great production from our bench, which Alexis and Nicole led. One of our emphases in the game was rebounding and it was a rebound by Alexis to win the game for us. We have a lot to work on, but I feel our nonconference schedule has prepared us for conference play."

Down to the final play

Mobile's defense came out and silenced Point's offense, as the Rams limited the Skyhawks to only one point for over half of the first period. With less than a minute remaining, the Rams led 16-8, but a 3-pointer from Iyanna McMillan cut Mobile's lead down to five entering the second period.

Mobile's momentum carried over to the second quarter, opening with an 11-2 run to jump ahead 27-13. Point, however, would close the second quarter out on a 12-3 run, bringing the score back within five. Point's run began with a made layup from McMillan and was followed by back-to-back made jump shots from Sheyvonne Owens.

Point's defense limited Mobile to only nine points in the third quarter while the Skyhawks made 16. A layup from Owens with two seconds remaining lifted the Skyhawks to a 41-39 lead entering the fourth period.

Mobile made quick work to retake its lead in the fourth quarter and extended it out to as many as five points before the Skyhawks brought the score back within one possession off a made layup from Tate. McMillan would tie the score at 56 with a jump shot and Williams would follow with a layup to give Point the lead. With 19 seconds left in the game, two made free throws from Mobile's Erica Jones would tie the score back at 58 before Tate's buzzer-beat helped Point to victory.

In the box

Owens led Point with her second double-double of the season, scoring a game-high of 17 points and 16 rebounds. She was followed by Nicole Izuagie, who recorded 11 points and Tate and McMillan scored 10 points apiece. Tate helped under the basket with nine boards. Marta Gimenez helped anchor Point's offense with five assists.

Up next

The Skyhawks (2-0) will now turn their attention to Appalachian Athletic Conference play as they host St. Andrews on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 2 p.m. inside West Point Park Gymnasium.