Army Wins Triple-Overtime Thriller Over Lafayette

Thursday, January 5

West Point, N.Y.

7 PM

Army West Point

11-3, 2-1PL

Lafayette

1-14, 0-3PL

OT 1

OT 2

OT 3

Lafayette

Army West Point

Army Wins Triple-Overtime Thriller Over Lafayette

January 05, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Junior Janae McNeal made game-tying shots at the end of the regulation and the end of double overtime during Army's 76-73 triple-overtime win against Lafayette in a Patriot League contest on Thursday night at Christl Arena.

Army improves to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in the Patriot League following the win, while Lafayette drops to 1-14 and 0-3.

McNeal hit a buzzer-beating lay-up with 1.2 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 55-55. The lay-up was reviewed and the call stood as a made lay-up. The junior added a jumper with five ticks left in double overtime to again deadlock the game, this time at 69-69 to send the game to triple overtime. Army outscored Lafayette, 7-4, in the third overtime period to seal the win.

Sophomore Madison Hovren scored a career-high 35 points and grabbed 10 boards for her third straight double-double, and her ninth of the season. McNeal finished with 15 points and seven rebounds and sophomore Jess Lewis tallied nine points. Junior Destinee Morris had eight points and five steals and classmate Daizjah Morris also added five steals, as the Black Knights recorded 17 steals on the night.

Olivia Gumbs led the Leopards with 16 points, Alexis Santarelli chipped in 14, and Sarah Agnello had 12 points.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army wins its fourth straight game over Lafayette to improve to 37-24 in the series.
Hovren scored at least 20 points for the fourth game in a row, and for the seventh time this year.
Hovren's double-double was her ninth of the season, and was her third in a row.
Army played into triple overtime for the second time in team history, after doing so against Navy on March 1, 2003. Army's two triple-overtime games are two of only three in Patriot League women's basketball history.
Daizjah Morris matched a career high with five steals, while Destinee Morris set a new career high with five steals.
Hovren's 35 points were a career best. She became the first Black Knight to reach 35 points in a game since Kelsey Minato (USMA '16) scored 37 at Lafayette on Dec. 31, 2014.
The Cadets turned the Leopards over 38 times for their most forced turnovers this season.
Army's win was its first when trailing with under 5:00 in regulation this season. The Black Knights trailed, 55-53, at the 5:00 mark of regulation.

KEY MOMENTS

McNeal made a driving lay-up as time expired in regulation to tie the game at 55-55.
Gumbs converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 13 ticks left in overtime to make the score 62-62.
McNeal played hero again with a key jumper with five seconds remaining in double overtime to force another tie and bring Army back from a six-point deficit in the period.
Hovren scored all seven of Army's points in triple overtime, including two free throws with 18 seconds left to move the score to 76-73.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams struggled out of the gate and stood tied at 9-9 after the opening quarter. The Black Knights shot just 26.7 percent (4-for-15) and the Leopards hit 25.0 percent (3-for-12) of their attempts during the first frame.
Army forced six turnovers and came up with four steals in the first quarter.
The Cadets continued to struggle from the field during the second quarter, as they hit 33.3 percent (4-of-12) of their shots in the period.
Lafayette led by seven, 21-14, with 3:54 left in the first half after a 5-0 run, but Lewis buried a three on the other end to get Army back to a 21-17 deficit with 3:39 remaining.
Gumbs answered with a lay-in for the visitors and Hovren recorded a steal and a fast-break lay-up on the Leopards' next possession to get Army back to within four, 23-19, with 2:16 left in the half.
Gumbs added and old-fashioned three-point play with 1:53 left before the halftime whistle to make the score 26-19. That score would stand until the half.
Army began the third quarter on a 7-2 run, which included six points from Hovren, and made the score 28-26, but Lafayette eventually built its lead to nine, 43-34, with 1:07 left. The Leopards maintained a nine-point advantage, 45-36, heading into the fourth.
The Black Knights started the fourth quarter with six unanswered points to cut their deficit to three, 45-42, before Santarelli made back-to-back lay-ups to move the Leopards back to a seven-point advantage, 49-42, with 4:29 left in the game.
Army climbed back to make it a three-point game, after two free throws from Hovren and a jumper from McNeal, but Lafayette got another lay-in to bring the game to 51-46 with 3:05 to play.
Lewis hit a key three-pointer with 1:23 left to tie the game at 51-51, but Sammy Stipa drew a foul at the other end and sank both free throws to give the Leopards a 53-51 lead with 1:14 remaining.
A Hovren lay-up tied the game at 53-53 with seven ticks left, but Agnello hit a lay-up with three seconds remaining to give Lafayette a two-point lead.
McNeal received a long inbound pass and made a lay-in at the buzzer. The shot was reviewed, but the officials determined the shot got off in time and the game headed to overtime.
Army held a 62-59 lead with 24 seconds left in overtime after a pair of free throws by Lewis. Lafayette answered with an old-fashioned three-point play by Gumbs with 13 ticks left and the game went to double overtime.
McNeal kept Army alive again after burying a jumper with five seconds left in double overtime to send the game into a third overtime period.
Hovren scored all seven points for the Black Knights in the third overtime session, as the hosts hung on for the triple-overtime win.