Lady Roadrunners Take OT Thriller over Panola
AC Runs Winning Streak to Seven Games
By GARY STALLARD
AC Athletics
With the game tied at 61-61 and a Panola Fillie at the free throw line, the Angelina College Lady Roadrunners were 1:42 seconds away from dropping a conference game at home.
But Panola's Daria Emereeva – a 74 percent free-throw shooter this season – couldn't get the second shot to fall, sending the game into overtime. There, the Lady Roadrunners built a seven-point lead and held on to win a 73-70 thriller Wednesday at Shands Gymnasium.
In the extra frame, Mia Williams and Natasha Mack converted field goals, Ayesha Davis banked in a three-pointer off a Charisma Shepherd assist and Angel Darcus hit a layup off a Davis feed to build the lead. Darcus then sealed the win with a pair of free throws with a single tick remaining in extra time.
The win moves the Lady Roadrunner winning streak to seven games and keeps the conference record spotless at 2-0.
The Fillies saw their own seven-game streak come to an end as they dropped their first conference loss of the year.
Mack, battling an illness all week, was questionable as to how many minutes she would go on Wednesday night. She responded with a 22-point, 12-rebound, four-block effort in 34 minutes. Darcus finished with 12 points and nine rebounds; Williams added nine points and Shepherd eight.
The Lady Roadrunners also went 19-of-26 from the free-throw line.
Panola's Patience Opke led the Fillies with 17 points. Emereeva finished with 12.
In Kilgore, the Roadrunner men fell 86-52 to the Rangers.
Both Angelina College teams are in action Saturday for a women/men doubleheader against Tyler Junior College. The Lady Roadrunners tip off at 2 p.m., with the Roadrunners following at 4 p.m. The games will be live streamed on www.angelinaathletics.com.
The e-mail address for AC's Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.