BARBOURVILLE, Ky. -- Driving through the lane with just six seconds left in overtime,
Maryah Mazyck hit the basket and converted the old-fashioned three-point play to lift the Bluefield College women's basketball team to a 78-76 road win over No. 23 Union College on Saturday evening at Robsion Arena.
Mazyck's late-game heroics provided the Charlotte, North Carolina native with a new career high of 19 points. She also led Bluefield in rebounds, pulling down 10 on the evening for her third double-double of the season and fourth of her career.
Bluefield used a balanced attack to secure the upset, placing four scorers in double-digits for just the fifth time on the season.
Shelby Key scored 18 points to also notch a career high. The point guard scored 14 of her points in the first half, while also ending the game with a career-bests of seven assists and eight steals.
Jade McDaniel matched her career high of 18 points, connecting on 4-of-6 attempts from distance, and
Destiny Tolliver chipped in 17 more.
The win improves Bluefield to 13-15 on the season and 9-10 in AAC play, as head coach
Corey Mullins' squad secured its first three-game win streak of the year and grabbed its second win over a ranked opponent this season. Bluefield knocked off then-No. 15 Tennessee Wesleyan 59-58 at the Dome Gymnasium on December 3, in a game that also needed overtime to decide a victor. Meanwhile, Union's record moves to 17-7 for the year and 14-4 in league action. The defeat is just the Bulldogs' third home loss this season (11-3).
"I thought tonight was a total team effort," remarked Mullins. "Our team really pulled together toward the end, with one starter injured and two others fouled out. It would have been nice to hit a few more free throws and avoid overtime, but I am pleased with the response from our players."
The game-winning three-point play was redemptive for the Bluefield junior, as Mazyck missed a pair of free throws with 13 seconds remaining in regulation with her team up 66-64. But, with time remaining Union went to its leader in Lydia Nash--who closed strong for a game-high 20 points--and the center squared the game with just 2.3 seconds remaining. A last effort from beyond mid-court from Key's came up well short and led to extra time.
Union appeared to have all the momentum going into the extra period, as the Bulldogs had erased a 10-point second-half deficit and Bluefield entered overtime short three players--Tolliver and
Sharonda Tate both fouled out in regulation and
Whitney Smith sat out due to injury.
The teams traded hoops back and forth to open the extra period, but a three-point play from Angie Lawrence earned the hosts a 71-70 edge with 3:49 remaining. Nash pushed the advantage to three with just 1:23 remaining, but Bluefield remained poised for the comeback.
McDaniel converted a pair of free throws to cut the deficit back to one, 73-72. After a pair of free-throw misses from Union, Mazyck placed Bluefield back on top, 75-73, with a three-point play and just 50 ticks left on the clock.
Lawrence, who finished the night with 10 points, provided the game's sixth tie after laying one in with 24 seconds remaining.
Bluefield took possession and Mullins called a timeout with 10 seconds remaining, drawing up what would be the game winner for the visitors.
Bluefield finished the night shooting a season-best 51% from the field, connecting on 29-of-57 attempts. Union connected at a 43% clip, hitting 25-of-58 attempts. BC needed the boost from the floor as it struggled at the charity stripe and hit just 13-of-26 attempts. Union was a more efficient 20-for-30 at the line.
McDaniel's four triples led BC's effort from distance. The team finished the night 7-for-19 (37%) and is now 7-2 on the year when making seven or more three-pointers in a game. Union went 6-for-20 (30%) from long range.
Both teams committed 26 turnovers. Key snagged half of BC's 16 steals, while Union had 14 thefts with seven coming from Haley Perkins.
Bluefield wraps up its regular-season slate with Senior Night on Wednesday evening at the Dome Gymnasium, hosting Milligan College at 5:30 p.m.Â
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