ARKADELPHIA - In a game that felt destined for a dramatic finish, senior
Madeleine Tipton scored the game-winning layup in the final second to lift the Ouachita women's basketball team to an 84-81 victory over Southern Arkansas on Senior Night.
With the score even at 79 apiece inside the final minute, the Tigers put the basketball in the hands of their leading scorer. Tipton hit a pull-up jumper from the left elbow to give the Tigers a late lead. After the Muleriders answered to level the score at 81, Tipton drove right and blew past her defender to beat the buzzer with a bank shot as the home crowd erupted inside Bill Vining Arena. The late-game heroics were fitting for Tipton, who poured in a game-high 37 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the floor and delivered the winning basket in the clutch.
Southern Arkansas struck first with an early 5-0 lead after freshman Blythe Crawley connected on a stepback three from the right wing. The Tigers found their rhythm as sophomore
Ruby Trammell drove baseline and used a pump fake to get her defender off balance for an open layup. Senior
Heidi Robinson attacked through the lane and scored with a tough finish at the rim, then Tipton followed up and scored through contact to level the score at 15-15.
Tipton continued to flourish with dribble penetration and opened the second frame by driving and kicking it out to senior
Audri Winfrey for a corner three that gave Ouachita (13-12, 10-11 GAC) its first lead. Both squads traded the first nine baskets of the second quarter, until Tipton took over. Tipton scored three straight baskets for the Tigers, capped with a runner to beat the shot clock and draw a foul to push the lead to 32-28. Ouachita closed the first half on a 14-3 scoring run, punctuated with consecutive threes from the top of the key by Robinson and Tipton as the Tigers carried a commanding 43-31 lead into halftime.
Southern Arkansas refused to fade away and doubled Ouachita 24-12 in the third to erase the deficit. Trammell secured a steal and led Tipton ahead for the fast break finish through contact for a traditional three-point play, but redshirt-freshman Bella Frisby knocked down all three free throws to tie it up at 55-55 heading into the fourth quarter.
The final frame felt like the 12th round of a heavyweight bout as the Tigers reclaimed the lead after Tipton drilled an open three from the right wing off an inbounds play, then she followed with a driving layup to push the Tigers ahead 60-55.
Robinson added a pull-up three from the top of the key to stretch the margin to 70-59 with just five minutes to play. The Muleriders answered with one final rally, scoring seven straight points in the paint, including a traditional three-point play to cut the lead to just four points.
Robinson blew past her defender to retaliate with a reverse layup, but the Muleriders answered with consecutive threes to cut it to 74-72 before the deciding sequence. Robinson finished with 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
Ouachita visits Arkansas-Monticello for the regular season finale on Saturday, with tip-off set for 1 p.m. Thursday night's win over SAU kept the Tigers in the postseason picture, currently tied for seventh in the Great American Conference standings. When the dust settles Saturday, the top eight make the league's championship tournament, which is next week in Fort Smith.
