Delta Perseveres, Wins in 2 OT

University Center, MI -  The Delta women's basketball team a while to find themselves Wednesday in a home tilt with Kellogg Community College.  But when they finally did, the Lady Pioneers were able to extend the game into overtime before finally knocking off a pesky Bruin team 103-94 in double overtime.  The win gives DC a 4-2 overall record heading into next week's Lynn Conway Classic tournament hosted on the campus at Delta College.

"We came out sluggish and lackluster," said head coach Kelly Miller.  "I couldn't believe we actually watching our traditional Delta women's team."

Delta forced 17 first half turnovers yet were unable to pull away from Kellogg as Delta gave up 10 turnovers in the first half themselves and only led by 3 at the midway point, 41-38.  Brooke Schutte added 15 points to lead the Pioneer offense through the first two quarters and would end the game with 19 points while burying 4-of-7 three pointers and shooting 6-of-14 overall.  

Kellogg, meanwhile, came out of the gate on fire to start the third quarter and quickly put Delta in a nine point hole that would last most of the game.  With five minutes remaining, Kellogg missed the front end of three one-and-ones that allowed DC to score on offense and get stops on defense. 

Down two with 1:30 to go, Jayde Abenth drained a pair of freebies to knot the score at 69.  After a defensive stop, Delta called a time-out to set up a play and got an open look for Nyashia Williams who came through, finding the bottom of the net on a triple with 20 seconds to go, giving Delta it's first lead since halftime.  But Kellogg answered with a three of it's own as time expired, pushing the game into overtime, tied at 75-75.

Kellogg once again had a late lead in the first overtime before Jenna Szostak grabbed an offensive rebound and drove to the hole to tie the game at 88 which forced the second overtime.  It was there that Delta finally found it's groove in outscoring the Bruins 15-6 to come away with the hard earned win.

"We definitely showed strides in coming together and not backing down as a team," said Miller.  "When calls weren't going our way and shots weren't falling and time ticking away we found a way to come together and work hard in the end for the win!"

I'm very proud of the maturity shown to finish the game the way we did having each other's back and always feeling like we could win the game. "Effort is everything and it showed with everyone contributing."

Williams led the Pioneers with 31 points and four rebounds including five three-pointers and hitting six of eight from the line.  Szostak , Abenth and Schutte all contributed 21, 18 and 19 points respectively.  Abenth scored 16 of her 18 when it mattered most – in the fourth quarter and two overtimes.  Delta shot 44 percent from the floor in the win and 74 percent from the free throw line. 

"I'm hoping we take what we learned from this game into our week of practice to prepare for the Lynn Conway and having another shot at Kalmazoo," said Miller.  Delta opens the Lynn Conway Classic on Friday in a rematch from last month with the Cougars of KVCC. 

At the time, Kalamazoo Valley was ranked #11 in the country and Delta led late before falling by a score of 71-60.  Other participants in the annual tournament are Lansing Community College and Erie (NY) Community College.  Delta tips off on Friday at 5:30pm while the tournament starts at 11am on Friday and runs through Saturday evening.