The Aquinas women's basketball team secured a comeback overtime victory over Cornerstone on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 13) in Mol Arena. The Saints used a big third quarter to comeback after being down at the half and then proceeded to outscore the Golden Eagles by 11 in the extra period for the 68-57 win.
Aquinas improved its overall record to 4-2 on the season and have started 2-0 in conference play, while Cornerstone falls to 1-5 so far this season and have began 0-2 in WHAC play.
After the Saints scored the first two baskets in the first quarter, it was the Golden Eagles who took over and ultimately held a five-point advantage after 10 minutes of play. Aquinas fought its way back and grabbed the lead again with 4:30 remaining in the second period, but Cornerstone hit four shots from beyond the arc to grab a seven-point lead heading into halftime.
As per usual so far this season, the Saints had their best quarter coming out of the break after making some adjustments and clamping down defensively. Aquinas held the Golden Eagles to nine points on 4-15 shooting, while offensively AQ had its best quarter by going 7-12 from the field, including 3-4 from downtown. Marissa Brady, Daz'Sha Day, and Brighton Miller were the main catalysts in the third quarter by scoring 16 of the 18 points. The Saints led by two heading into the fourth quarter as the teams battled back and forth down the stretch. AQ extended its lead up to six with 6:30 remaining before CU scored nine straight to lead by three with 4:08 left on the clock. A three by Jordyn Wigg put the Saints back on top by two, then a couple Cornerstone free throws tied the game up with 1:15 remaining. A free throw by Wigg gave Aquinas a short lived lead until the Golden Eagles hit another trifecta with 45 second left. The Saints went down low to Brady and it paid off as she finished a layup to send the game 55-55 into overtime.
Cornerstone scored its only bucket of the extra period after Day previously made a layup as Aquinas went on an 11-0 run to finish the game. Two threes and three free throws made down the stretch secured the 11-point win for the Saints.
Aquinas finished with a 45.6% field goal percentage after making 26-57 attempts. Shooting from behind the arc, the Saints made nearly half of their attempts by going 7-15 and also went 9-22 from the free throw line. AQ held Cornerstone to a 33.9% shooting percentage and a 27.3% three point percentage, while the Golden Eagles went 11-13 from the charity stripe.
Day had the best scoring day for the Saints, finishing with a season-high 19 points on 7-14 shooting including a perfect 3-3 from downtown, while also grabbing eight boards. Brady had another efficient day on the court by shooting 6-8 and making two free throws for 14 points, while also securing eight rebounds, seven blocked shots, and four assists. Miller also finished with double-digit points at 10 to go along with three assists and two rebounds.
The Saints finished the game with more rebounds (40-38), blocks (7-4), and steals (13-7) with the Golden Eagles having more turnovers (19-18) and both teams dishing out 15 assists. Aquinas dominated Cornerstone down low, finishing with more points in the paint by a 32-20 margin, while also leading in second chance points (14-8) and points off turnovers (19-15).
AQ will host Goshen in a nonconference matchup on Tuesday (Nov. 16) in Sturrus Center, with tip-off sceduled for 7:00 PM.
