It was a decision that came down to the buzzer.
After a tough week of hard losses, the Western Michigan University Broncos defeated the Saint Louis Billikens (4-7) in a 54-53 decision.
During the first meeting between the two teams in 2008, Saint Louis guard Theresa Lisch sunk a 3-pointer with less than a second remaining, giving the Billikens a 68-67 win. On Saturday however, the Broncos returned the favor.
“First I just want to say that I am extremely proud of our team,” said Bronco head coach Tasha McDowell. “This week has been one filled with a lot of adversity and we worked through some things, we talked through some things, we struggled through some things and this win more than any other win feels so good because we wanted it so much as a team.”
In the first half, Western Michigan went 11-for-29 in the field and 2-for-4 at the free throw line, giving them a 29-22 lead over the Billikens.
At the start of the second half, the Lady Broncos managed to snag four quick points off free throws as both senior forward Sara Vest and sophomore forward Miame Giden were sent to the line. Giden, who remained scoreless in the first half, used the momentum from those free throws to sink another three points in less than a minute of play.
“I just wanted to get in there and help my teammates out,” said Giden. “My teammates did really well – did extremely well the first half, moving the ball, scoring, defending really well and I just wanted to get in the second half and contribute to it and help them out.”
With less than one minute of play left in the game, the Blue and White found themselves within one point of a win. As the seconds on the game clock wound down, the ball found its way into the hand of senior center Amanda Kemezys, who was unable to make the bucket for the win. Kemezys finished the game with 23 points, 14 rebounds, two steals and one assist.
“I knew what was going to cause us the biggest problem was that if they gave the ball to her [Kemezys] in the final seconds so from my standpoint, I felt like they were going to go for her but I knew they had other weapons on the floor,” said McDowell. “I told the team in the huddle that this would be our biggest defensive possession that we’ve played thus far this year and we have to go after the board.”
Leading the way for the Brown and Gold was junior guard Taylor Manley with 17 points, four rebounds and one assist within 24 minutes of play. This is the second game this week Manley has put up a strong performance as she led the Broncos with 18 points against Eastern Illinois on Wednesday.
Giden finished with 11 points and four rebounds within 27 minutes of play.
The Brown and Gold return to University Arena on Tuesday when they face Washington at 7 p.m.
