By: JERRY REILLY, Sports Information Director
BOXSCORE BOXSCORE
FREDONIA, N.Y. – Fredonia State rallied from 17 points down in the second half and claimed a 69-67 overtime win over Penn State Behrend at the Steele Hall Fieldhouse.
Becky Hebert had eight points during the overtime and led the Fredonia State offense with 22 points. SUNYAC's leading scorer at the start of the week, she came on strong after being held to two points in the first half.
Liz Wierbinski added 18 points and 14 rebounds, Nicole Calbi had another 12 points and eight assists, and Jaimie Warren chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Brittany Wilwohl had 27 points for Behrend, Julia Myers added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Holly Bourquin had 10 and 10.
The Blue Devils improved to 3-2 with the win while Behrend fell to 3-1.
Fredonia State broke out of the gate quickly to build a 10-2 lead and baskets by five different players. Behrend pulled even with a 10-2 run of its own. The Lions then closed out the first half a 14-8 run for a 33-27 lead at the break.
Behrend seemed to take command with an 11-0 run to start the second half. After a Fredonia State timeout, the Lions extended their advantage to 44-27 – their largest of the game – before Hebert stemmed the tide with a pair of free throws.
Hebert's free throws began an 8-0 run by the Blue Devils. Wilwohl knocked down a three and later a two-pointer as Behrend pushed its lead back out to 52-37 with 9:51 remaining.
The Blue Devils closed out the half by outscoring the Lions 18-3. The only Behrend field goal during the stretch was a layup by Julia Myers with 4:48 remaining.
The comeback began with a basket by Kristina Kuscht and culminated with a pair of free throws by Calbi with 6.0 seconds left. Behrend's Aly Eagle missed a running one-hander as regulation time expired.
The teams traded baskets to start the overtime before Calbi found Wierbinski open for a stand-alone 12-footer for a 59-57 Fredonia State lead. The Blue Devils led the rest of the way and added to their advantage as Hebert scored off a fast-break.
She later made two consecutive layups after the Behrend defense left her unguarded down low.
Wilwohl scored in transition with a running one-hander to cut the Blue Devil lead to 65-63 with 1:28 left. Hebert then passed to Wierbinski, who again hit a stand-alone jumper to re-up the margin to four points.
Two free throws by Behrend's Emily Detsch were negated with Calbi was fouled with 13.5 seconds to go and made a pair from the line.
Following a basket by Behrend's Myers, Anna Riley had a chance to salt the game away for the Blue Devils but missed two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining. Eagle rebounded for Behrend and the Lions called a timeout to set up a final play.
Calbi intercepted the inbounds pass near midcourt and the Blue Devil comeback was complete.
The Blue Devils shot 39.7 percent in the game, but were 6 of 8 from the field during the overtime.
Fredonia State gets its first taste of SUNYAC competition starting next Friday at New Paltz. The Blue Devils also visit Oneonta next Saturday.
FREDONIA STATE 69, PENN STATE BEHREND 67
PENN STATE BEHREND (3-1)
Wilwohl Brittany 10-20 4-6 27; Myers Julia 5-10 4-10 14; Bourquin Holly 5-10
0-0 10; Detsch Emily 2-8 4-4 8; Eagle Aly 1-9 0-0 3; Novotny Hannah 1-2 0-0
3; Corso Natalie 1-2 0-0 2; Bayly Brianna 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 25-65 12-20 67.
FREDONIA STATE (3-2)
HEBERT, Becky 10-21 2-3 22; WIERBINSKI, Liz 9-12 0-1 18; CALBI, Nicole 3-11
6-9 12; WARREN, Jaimie 4-13 2-3 10; KUSCHT, Kristina 2-4 0-0 4; RILEY, Anna
1-5 1-4 3; AUSTIN, Jenna 0-7 0-0 0. Totals 29-73 11-20 69.
Penn State Behrend............ 33 22 12 - 67
Fredonia State................ 27 28 14 - 69
3-point goals-Penn State Behrend 5-22 (Wilwohl Brittany 3-6; Eagle Aly 1-7;
Novotny Hannah 1-2; Detsch Emily 0-3; Corso Natalie 0-1; Bayly Brianna 0-3),
Fredonia State 0-7 (HEBERT, Becky 0-1; CALBI, Nicole 0-1; AUSTIN, Jenna
0-5). Fouled out--Penn State Behrend-Wilwohl Brittany, Fredonia
State-AUSTIN, Jenna. Rebounds-Penn State Behrend 47 (Myers Julia 10;
Bourquin Holly 10), Fredonia State 46 (WIERBINSKI, Liz 14). Assists-Penn
State Behrend 11 (Wilwohl Brittany 5), Fredonia State 13 (CALBI, Nicole 8).
Total fouls-Penn State Behrend 22, Fredonia State 15. A-87
