Eagles take out Lopers with one shot

The Eagle women’s match against the University of Nebraska-Kearney Lopers in the Armstrong Gym came down to the last few seconds.

The team knew what was at stake for this game: respect and bragging rights.

The two rivals passed the lead back and forth for the first 5 minutes of the game until the Lopers took charge of the half.

The Eagles kept the Lopers’ lead to a maximum of 8 points.

The first half ended 22-19, in favor of Kearney.

As the second half began, the Eagles defense tightened up and both teams were at a battle for survival.

The Lopers kept the lead up until the last minute of the second half when CSC’s former Loper Kaitlin Petri, junior guard of Kearney, scored with a lay-up to tie the score at 57.

The Eagles grabbed more rebounds than the first half, which prevented the Lopers from attempting any second or third tries of scoring.

Loper Kim Thissen, senior of Davenport, Iowa, took back the lead 58-57 with a free-throw, 30 seconds left in the game.

Petri was fouled by Tessa Kreutzer, sophomore of Loomis, 2 seconds later. She made both of her free-throw shots putting the Eagles ahead 59-58.

Nine seconds to go, Loper Vanessa Leeper, sophomore of Colorado Springs, Colo., shot a 2-pointer taking the lead for Kearney 60-59.

With the last seconds remaining in the game, the crowd stood up awaiting an Eagle comeback.

Petri dribbled down the court for a final shot with 2 seconds left. The crowd exploded when the ball sank into the basket.

The Lopers could not retaliate and the crowd charged onto the court as the clock ran out, leaving the Eagles with a 61-60 rivalry win.