Rockford Edges Eureka in Overtime, 92-87

EUREKA, Ill. -- In a game that featured 25 lead changes and 19 tied scores, Rockford's Mallorie Getzelman scored the go-ahead basket with 17 seconds left in overtime to send the visiting Regents to a 92-87 victory over the Eureka College women's basketball team, Saturday afternoon at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena.

After a Kerrigan Dura (Brimfield, Ill./Brimfield H.S.) free throw knotted the score at 87-87 with 37 seconds to play, the Regents responded with Getzelman's layup for an 89-87 lead. Eureka turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, but still had a chance to tie after Nicole Silvers split a pair of foul shots for a 90-87 RU lead in the final 12 seconds. EC got a clean look at what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer, but the shot attempt was off the mark and Getzelman followed with a rebound and two free throws to put the game away.

Both teams needed heroics late in the fourth quarter to force the overtime period, as the two squads traded the lead three times in the final 37 seconds. A 3-pointer from Eureka junior Hayley Reneau (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S./Illinois Central) gave the hosts a 77-75 edge with nine seconds remaining, but an offensive rebound and a putback by Rockford's Tajanae Key forced a 77-77 tie on the ensuing possession with less than a second left in regulation.

Neither team led by more than five points throughout the duration of Saturday's game. Eureka's largest cushion came on Dura's 3-pointer for a 23-18 lead in the first minute of the second quarter. The Red Devils led 41-38 at halftime.

Reneau and Dura scored 20 points apiece to pace the hosts. Senior Michaela Balducci (Eureka, Ill./Eureka H.S.) netted 12 and freshman Kennedy Dura (Brimfield, Ill./Brimfield H.S.) had 11. Reneau also compiled nine rebounds, six steals and six assists.

Getzelman put up a game-high 33 points and was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. The Regents did a sizable portion of their damage from the charity stripe, going 28-for-33 for the game.

The Red Devils will play their first regular-season road contest of the campaign on Tuesday in a 5 p.m. start at Millikin in Decatur, Ill., the first game of an eight-game stretch of games on the road. Eureka won't return to Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena until a Jan. 1 clash with Rust.