By Taylor Hodges
FHU Sports Information Director
It was a semifinal for the ages, and the Lady Lions (26-6, 23-3 AMC) were able to pull off a classic win, knocking off Columbia College (25-7, 20-5 AMC) 74-71 in overtime to advance to the AMC Championship game.
Alyssa LeMay came up huge for the Lady Lions throughout the game, but no moment was bigger than when she knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give her team the lead in overtime with eight seconds to go in overtime.
The sophomore would go on to score a career-high 32 points in the game on 12-of-21 shooting, 7-of-14 from behind the arc, which matches the second most total points in an AMC Tournament game since 2011.
The Lady Lions had control of the game throughout the contest, taking a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter and leading by as many as 17 in the period. But Columbia’s high-powered offense, led by Jordan Alford, wouldn’t go away, and they were able to take the game into extra time.
The Cougars took their first lead of the entire game in overtime when they scored the first basket, and they led by as many as five with 1:41 left in extra time.
LeMay hit her first clutch three of the period to make it a two-point game with 1:28 to go, and after neither team was able to get anything going for well over a minute of action, LeMay knocked down the massive shot from deep that gave the Lady Lions the lead off of Jamie Crum’s massive offensive rebound.
After the Lady Lions got the lead with eight seconds to go, it was their defense that clinched the win. Columbia called a timeout and advanced the ball into their front court, but FHU’s stout defense forced a five-second call, giving them the ball back.
The All-American senior Haylee Croom had a massive afternoon for her Lady Lions as well, scoring 22 points and adding eight rebounds in the contest.
With the win, the Lady Lions finish the season with a 15-1 record at home and a 7-0 record in the AMC Semifinals, meaning they have played in the AMC Championship game in every season since joining the conference.
They played in Arkansas on Tuesday to take on the No. 1 seeded Lyon College Scots in an attempt to repeat as AMC Tournament Champions. Read next week’s paper for results.
