SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – In a back-and-forth overtime battle, the No. 8 Winona State women's basketball team was on the losing end in heartbreaking fashion, falling to Augustana 85-84 at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
In an overtime that saw the lead change hands six times, the Vikings' Sophie Kenney scored the winning basket with three seconds left to propel Augustana to the championship game. But the Warriors still had a final chance after advancing the ball to half court, but Alexis Foley's look at the win rattled in and out. Connor Nagle opened the extra session with a 3-pointer to take a 79-76 lead, but Kenney gave Augie back the lead with four straight points. Kayla Timmerman hit a 3-point shot to give WSU an 82-80 lead, but Augie's Sydney Rome answered with a 3-pointer of her own to put the Vikings back on top by one with 2:04 to play. Hannah McGlone responded with a layup for the lead with 10 seconds before the Vikings' game winner.
The tables were turned to end regulation as Kenney hit the go-ahead layup with 33 seconds to play, but Timmerman hit the final jumper with 19 seconds left to send the game to the extra session. Timmerman hit two big shots despite finishing the day 4-of-12 from the field.
Foley finished with a game-high 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting and a career-high 12 assists. Tara Roelofs scored 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting – including a 4-of-9 showing from 3-point range – and Nagle added 19 points with five 3-pointers and eight rebounds.
In the game, Nagle broke a WSU record for single-season 3-pointers, surpassing Becca Friestleben's mark of 103 in the 2012-13 season. Nagle now has 105 on the year.
The Warriors got off to a great start, as Roelofs opened the game with a 3-pointer and her second gave WSU a 26-17 lead. Foley hit one as well to put WSU up 29-23 before a Nagle triple extended the lead to 34-26. Nagle then hit an acrobatic 3-pointer to draw a foul and convert a four-point play to make it 44-35 at the half.
An 8-0 run had the Warriors up 57-51 in the second half, but Augie pulled to within two on a pair of occasions before taking a 66-63 lead as Winona State opened the second half hitting just 6-of-24 shots. The two teams were back-and-forth the rest of the way.
Winona State (29-3) will find out its NCAA Tournament fate at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, March 6 on NCAA.com.
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