Kentucky Wesleyan point guard Shiya Hoosier scored a team-high 18 points, including a game-winning runner in the lane with less than two seconds remaining, to lift the Panthers to a 66-64 conference win over Ursuline on Thursday at the Sportscenter.
Hoosier made 7-of-12 shots from the field and 2-of-4 attempts from 3-point range while also adding four steals, three rebounds and two assists. The fifth-year standout scored 13 points in the second half, including a buzzer-beating layup at the end of the third quarter that gave Wesleyan (3-1, 1-0 G-MAC) a 50-46 lead.
Ursuline’s Brooke Haren converted a traditional three-point play to cap off a 10-4 scoring spurt that pushed the Arrows to a 56-54 advantage with 6:21 remaining, but KWC’s Riley Neal answered with a three-point play of her own less than a minute later. The Panthers scored eight unanswered points to secure a 62-56 edge with 2:55 left to play.
Ursuline (0-7, 0-1) responded with a 6-0 run, with Sophia Kline making a pair of foul shots to tie the game at 62-62 with 50 seconds remaining. Hoosier drew a foul and made two free throws 20 seconds later before Kline tied the contest on a layup with 27 seconds to play — setting the stage for Hoosier’s last-second shot. Ilani Williams-Harris then tipped the Ursuline inbounds pass, allowing Hoosier to make the game-sealing steal.
Neal finished with 12 points and two steals for the Panthers, while Myah Montgomery added 10 points, four rebounds and three steals. Asia Sawyers secured six rebounds to pace KWC on the boards.
Wesleyan shot 40.7% from the field, including 6-of-23 from 3-point range (26.1%), and converted 12-of-18 free throws (66.7%) with 15 turnovers.
Riley Stopp led Ursuline with a game-best 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Kamryn Dziak posted 13 points, and Kline chipped in 12 points with four assists.
The Arrows made 51.9% of their shots from the floor, including 4-of-17 from distance (23.5%), and converted 6-of-8 foul shots (75%) with 21 turnovers.
The victory was Wesleyan’s third consecutive home win this season.
The Panthers will return to action with an exhibition at Division I Western Kentucky on Wednesday before hitting the road for a pair of G-MAC tilts at Ashland (Dec. 14) and Malone (Dec. 16).
URSULINE13 16 17 18 — 64
KENTUCKY WESLEYAN13 16 21 16 — 66
Ursuline (64) — Stopp 21, Dziak 13, Kline 12, Haren 7, Stask 5, Schreffler 4, Stottsberry 2.
Kentucky Wesleyan (66) — Hoosier 18, Neal 12, Montgomery 10, Dabu 9, Williams-Harris 8, Stinebrickner 4, Sawyers 3, Richetto 2.
