Chargers Open Conference Schedule With OT Win Over Highland

GALESBURG — The Carl Sandburg College women's basketball team survived a see-saw affair with Highland on Thursday night at John Lewis Gym in its Arrowhead Conference opener, beating the Cougars 87-81 in overtime.

KEY MOMENTS
• The largest lead for either team in regulation was just five points, as the contest featured 23 lead changes and 12 ties. The Chargers (12-3, 1-0) scored six straight points for a 64-59 lead with 4:40 to play in the fourth quarter after a Savannah Dominique bucket, a Kelci Shelton putback and a Camille Kruse layup.
• The Cougars tied the game at 71 with :07.4 left in regulation on a driving layup by Ariadna Kuc. Highland got the ball back with :00.5 left and had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but couldn't convert on a wide-open layup opportunity.
• Tied at 75 in OT, Shelton — who finished with season highs in points and rebounds — delivered a three-point play with 2:14 to go, giving Sandburg the lead for good. Kruse followed with a basket on a drive for an 80-75 lead at 1:40, and the Chargers took their biggest lead of the night at 84-77 on Kruse's pair of free throws with under a minute left.

SANDBURG STANDOUT
While five Chargers scored in double figures, Dominique delivered perhaps the biggest minutes for Sandburg off the bench. The sophomore forward had six points on 3-of-7 shooting and pulled in five rebounds. She also played stout defense in the post and stepped in to draw a charge in the second half.

OTHER TOP CHARGERS
• Shelton: 19 points (season high), 8-13 FG, 13 rebounds (season high), 6 steals, 4 assists
• Brook Pieper: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists
• Kruse: 12 points, 4-11 FG
• Elly Bentley: 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists
• Gabbie Vontz: 10 points, 4-8 FG, 4 rebounds

FOR THE COUGARS
• Kuc: 29 points
• Talena Rogers: 13 points
• Alicia Garcia: 10 points

HOME, SWEET HOME
With the victory, Sandburg improved to 8-0 on its home floor this season.

UP NEXT FOR SANDBURG
5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Illinois Central

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