LEBANON, Tenn.-- Mackenzie Trouten matched her career high in points with 24, as the Phoenix pulled out an overtime nail biter, 88-80, against conference foe Georgetown College tonight in Dallas Floyd Phoenix Arena.
Cumberland (8-18, 2-13 MSC) nearly missed out on its second conference victory of the season tonight despite owning a second half lead of as many as 16 points in large part due to a costly 24 turnovers. The Phoenix might have struggled with ball control, but the team did an excellent job of shooting the ball hitting 49.2% of their shots from the field (30-for-61) and an even more impressive 50% from deep (9-for-18). Georgetown (13-15, 4-11 MSC) made things very exciting down the stretch, but too many shots from deep with a poor shooting rate (17.1%, 6-for36) hurt the team.
Four Phoenix ballers broke into double figure scoring on the night, led by Trouten’s dominant performance with 24 to go along with 5 boards. Ashlyn Pittman was on fire from deep, nailing four of the six shots she took from outside of the arc on her way to one of the best nights of her young career with 16 points. Kerrice Watson came up just short of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Abby Morgan did a good job of cutting to the basket throughout the night on her way to 11 points.
The Tigers also had four shooters with good nights, headlined by Lauren Boblitt’s 19 point 12 rebound performance. Hailey Ison followed Boblitt with 17 points, 11 of which came from the charity stripe. Kennedy Flynn posted 11, while Madison Darnell also earned a double-double with 10 points and rebounds.
Both teams struggled to find a bucket to start the game, the only shot of the first 2.5 minutes coming on a midrange jumper by the Tigers. Neither team was able to find much on the offensive side of the ball and that was in large part due to sloppy ball control, the Tigers coughing the ball up four times while Cumberland gave up nine of their own.
The Phoenix got on the board just outside of the seven minute mark, Mackenzie Trouten laying in a tough shot down low. A fifteen-footer by Katherine Griffith from the top of the key ended a Georgetown run, to pull the Cumberland within five at 11-6. Abby Morgan got a three ball up and in from the left wing, which Kerrice Watson followed with a coast-to-coast steal and score to keep the first quarter deficit manageable at 16-11.
Cumberland quickly cut the lead down to two in the second, Lucy Chilcutt nailing a three from the far side, 18-16. A well-executed inbounds play underneath the basket saw an easy bucket down low for Britany Miller as she beat her man on the post, sparking the Phoenix offensive attack. On the ensuing three possessions, the Phoenix took and then extended the lead to 32-26, Trouten and Ashlyn Pittman connecting on three-straight deep balls. As the seconds ran out in the first half, Morgan hit an acrobatic layup to finish a 12-1 run over the final four minutes of the second on the way to a 38-27 advantage.
Cumberland soared out of the break, Trouten cutting through traffic on her way to a fast break bucket in the opening seconds of the half. Following the Tiger’s first made basket in nearly a full quarter, Bree Thibeault gathered an offensive rebound before going back up for the short jumper. Trouten’s excellent performance continued as she rocked in a three from the left wing to increase the lead to 50-36. Morgan hit Thibeault near the far corner where she got down two quick steps and extended towards the basket for the crisp Euro step, pushing the edge to 59-43. The Tigers got their shooting legs back under them pulling some momentum their way, but with time expiring in the quarter, Trouten hit a clutch jumper from the top of the key to keep it in double digits at 62-51.
Two minutes into the final quarter, Watson passed the ball to a wide open Pittman in the far corner for the easy three, but Georgetown would not go away hitting a layup just inside of seven minutes remaining to shorten the Cumberland lead to 66-57. Consistently sloppy play down the stretch kept the lead dwindling, standing at 66-64 with four minutes to go as Cumberland lost all of its momentum. The Phoenix found themselves in their first deficit since the early running of the game after free-throws by Georgetown garnered them a 70-69 lead. A pair of shots from the charity stripe by Trouten seemed to be enough to end the game, but more turnovers saw the game tied at 72-72, forcing overtime.
With Trouten no longer in the game due to fouling out, Pittman took over in extra time, connecting on three beyond clutch shots from both deep and down low to give Cumberland early breathing room. The Phoenix capitalized on the renewed momentum, controlling overtime on their way to a 88-80 victory.
The Phoenix close out their home and regular season schedule Saturday with a 2 p.m., throw down against the Thomas More Saints.
