OWENSBORO, KY – The Kentucky Wesleyan women's basketball team (3-1, GMAC 1-0) defeated Ursuline (0-7, GMAC 0-1) at the buzzer 66-64 on Thursday evening. The Panthers were pretty banged up coming into this one, missing two key players off the bench and losing Vilborg Jonsdottir early in the game due to an ankle injury. 
 
Shiya Hoosier kicked off the contest with a three-pointer less than two minutes in. Although, the Panthers looked a bit rusty in the first quarter after a long break between games. They found themselves trailing the Arrows 10-7 with just over a minute remaining. Two triples made by Myah Montgomery and Ilani Williams-Harris tied the game 13-13 to end the quarter.
 
"I think it is just getting our game feet under us, it is two weeks tomorrow since we last played," Head Coach Nicole Nieman said. "We are so young and so new. We have to figure things out and the only way to do that is through experience and playing. We are learning as we go."
 
Arielle Dabu single-handedly went back-and-forth with Ursuline halfway through the second quarter, scoring seven points in a two-minute stretch. Riley Neal converted at the charity stripe to tie the game once again at the halftime break.
 
Williams-Harris drilled a three straight out of the locker room, but the Arrows fired back with a 6-0 run of their own. It was Neal's turn to lead the way, scoring three straight buckets to give Wesleyan a 41-39 edge. Hoosier caught fire late in the third quarter, scoring seven points including a buzzer-beating layup. Surprisingly, that would not be her only one of the night. Kentucky Wesleyan held a four-point lead heading into the final quarter.
 
Freshman guard Lena Stinebrickner scored a layup off a feed from Sydnee Richetto to open up the fourth. Ursuline kept fighting, responding with a 10-2 run. Neal converted an and-one to kill the momentum and give the Panthers a 57-56 lead. Hoosier then scored six of the Panthers final nine points, including, yet another, buzzer-beating layup. She turned around and picked off the Arrows inbound pass to seal the victory for Wesleyan.
 
"I could speak forever about Shiya, she is a tremendous leader for us and does everything you could ask out of a player," Coach Nieman said. "I am sitting on the sideline [on the last possession] telling her as she is running by me, "Shiya, go get the ball.""
 
The fifth-year guard currently leads the team in points, rebounds, and assists and scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half. Neal scored 12 points on the night, building off her ten-point performance in their last contest. Montgomery finished with ten points while Dabu added nine points and five rebounds.
 
Due to all the injuries, the Panthers were looking for somebody to step up, and freshmen Asia Sawyers and Lena Stinebrickner did just that. Sawyers pulled down six boards while Stinebrickner chipped in four points and relentless on-ball defense.
 
"In this program, it is about everybody," Nieman said. "They buy into that, so they are willing to work hard through practices no matter their role or their minutes. Because of their work in practice, they were able to step up like they did. We had Lena [Stinebrickner], Asia [Sawyers], and Riley [Neal] step up and continue to make progress. I am proud of them and how they worked tonight."
 
The Panthers will be back in action at Diddle Arena on Wednesday, December 11^th at 6:30 p.m. for an exhibition contest again the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky.
 
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