Charleston Leader

Three Free Throws Decide Charleston Victory in Nail-Biting Matchup

On Saturday, the Golden Eagles hosted the Fairmont State Falcons for their second meeting of the year. The Falcons took the first matchup by a score of 71-78 at home and were looking to climb up in the MEC standings with a win on the road. This one would go down to the wire as the game would not be decided until the clock displayed .9 seconds.
 
The Basics
Location: Wehrle Innovation Center
Score: UC 73, FSU 70
Records: UC (16-4, 11-3 MEC), FSU (14-7, 9-5 MEC) 
 
How it Happened
In the first five minutes of the ballgame, Charleston would open up the quarter with a 10-3 run over the Falcons led by Trinity Palacio contributed six points in the run. This created a deficit that Fairmont State was unable to overcome in the first quarter. Despite the low shooting percentage from the field from both squads, the Golden Eagles would find five more shots inside the arc than the Falcons, in addition to a triple coming from Dakota Reeves with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter. At the end of one, Charleston took a 19-10 lead into the second quarter. 
 
Both teams would exchange free throws to start the period coming from Fairmont State's Leslie Huffman and Charleston's Abby Lee. Katy Darnell would chip away at the deficit as she added on six consecutive points, and another trip from Huffman at the line would cut the lead to just three points with 3:33 remaining in the half. It would be Charleston, however, with the final chuckles of the half. Following two back-to-back triples from Reeves, Maggie Stephenson would knock home a quick jumper with just a second remaining on the clock to give the Golden Eagles the 33-22 lead heading into the locker room.
 
The third quarter was a great quarter to watch if you were favoring the maroon and gold on Saturday. Charleston would shoot 53% (8-15) from the field and drain more than half of their shots from beyond the arc. Coming off a concussion, Markyia McCormick would find herself back on the court with her team, and her three-pointer with 4:56 remaining in the quarter would give Charleston a 45-30 lead over the Falcons. Fairmont State would sink the last jumper of the quarter, but the Golden Eagles ended the third with a 54-41 lead. 
 
Then the fourth quarter started. 
 
Slowly and surely, Fairmont State was determined to not go down without a fight. They would shoot 67% (8-12) from the field, but one of the more impressive statistics of the quarter, or the game for that matter, was their 100% conversion rate from the charity stripe. The squad would shoot a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line, with their last of the game coming from Leslie Huffman's clutch "and-one" conversion to tie the game at 70-70 with 19 seconds remaining. 
 
With time winding down, Dakota Reeves would grab a loose ball and hurl a prayer up towards the basket with .9 seconds remaining on the clock. A whistle was blown during the play as Dakota Reeves was fouled by Huffman during the play, but the question was if it was a shooting foul or a personal foul. The Falcons were not in foul trouble, so a personal foul would only mean an inbound pass and no shots. 
 
With everyone waiting for the call, it was determined that Reeves would take a trip to the free throw line for three shots. With ice in her veins, the veteran would make every single one of them. The Falcons had one more opportunity to tie the game with .9 seconds on the clock, but a desperation shot on an inbound pass from beyond the arc wouldn't fall and Charleston took the 73-70 nail-biting victory over the Fairmont State Falcons. 

Original source can be found here