TAYLORSVILLE — They couldn't quite overcome fourth-ranked College of Southern Idaho at home Saturday. The SLCC women, however, proved they can play with the Scenic West-leading Golden Eagles.
Well, after halftime anyway.
After falling behind by 16 points to the more aggressive and physical CSI players, the Bruins twice rallied out of double-digit holes in the second half to force overtime before finally falling 75-66 to the Golden Eagles in the extra session.
"Maybe we were a little scared coming out — maybe a little tight, a little tense," said SLCC coach Betsy Specketer. "They're really physical, and the physical part of the game we weren't quite ready for."
Specketer said she simply challenged her players to start pushing back — and they did. Keshia Catten, Breanne Haslam and Michelle Pace led the Bruins' second-half surge, scoring 42 of their 44 combined points after halftime. Catten (17 points) and Pace (11 points) did all of their scoring following the dismal first half that ended with CSI ahead 30-14. Pace's driving bucket with 34 seconds forced the overtime.
LaCale Pringle-Buchanan scored six quick points in overtime and led four Golden Eagles with 14-plus points with 17 points to go with eight rebounds, eight steals and seven assists. The win lifted CSI to 19-1, 5-0, while SLCC dropped to 14-5, 4-1 with its first loss in six games.
