[Women's Basketball] Mustangs outlast Queen Bees for 20th win

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Mount Mercy overcame the heroics of Annie Smith and St. Ambrose to reach the 20-win mark for the third time in four years with a 92-88 victory over the Queen Bees in Midwest Collegiate Conference action on Wednesday at Hennessey Recreation Center.

Both teams enjoyed a nine-point lead during the game. The Queen Bees led, 26-17, with 6:10 to go in the first half until freshman guard Paige Last nailed three 3-pointers to spark a Mustang rally that had them in front, 39-38, at intermission.

Mount Mercy held a nine-point advantage at 62-53 with 11:06 remaining in the second period. St. Ambrose closed the gap and even moved ahead by three, 79-76, on a 3-pointer by Lauren Cash with just under a minute left in regulation.

Senior guard Emily Greiner knocked down two free throws with 42 seconds to go to cut the deficit to one, 79-78. After a third straight turnover by the Queen Bees, senior forward Bria Fields picked up a loose ball under the Mustang basket and laid the ball in for an 80-79 Mount Mercy lead with 12 seconds on the clock.

Senior guard Micha Mims stole the inbounds pass and got the ball to Greiner, who made two more free throws to put the Mustangs back up by three, 82-79, with nine seconds remaining. Cash moved the ball down the floor and dished to Smith in the corner, who promptly swished a trey as the buzzer sounded to force overtime.

Mount Mercy (20-7, 12-3 MCC) outscored St. Ambrose (10-14, 6-9 MCC), 10-6, in the extra period to win its fifth straight game and reach 20 wins for the 22nd time in school history. The Mustangs have won at least 20 games three times in Head Coach Aaron Jennings' four years. They were 24-9 in 2008-09, 20-12 the year after that and 19-13 last season.

Senior guard Becca Lampe hit five of Mount Mercy's 15 treys to lead five Mustangs in double figures with 17 points. Greiner was held scoreless in the first half but poured in 16 points in the second period and overtime. She was 11-of-11 at the free throw line and had a pair of steals.

Mims had another outstanding all-around game, going 4-of-4 from 3-point range and finishing with 15 points, six rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Sophomore forward Amanda Frost also scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high eight boards. Senior guard Laura Lippert added 14 points and six rebounds and Last ended up with nine points in 10 minutes off the bench.

Cash made four triples and led the Queen Bees with 21 points to go along with six rebounds. Samantha Saladino's double-double included 20 points and 11 boards, while Michelle Charvat also reached double digits in points and rebounds with 12 and 10, respectively. Smith totaled 15 points and Katie Schuler chipped in eight points, 12 boards and a game-high nine assists.

Mount Mercy hosts AIB on Senior Day this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Hennessey Rec Center. The Mustangs defeated the Eagles (12-15, 5-10 MCC), 59-49, on Jan. 14 in Des Moines.