Samuel Hits Game-Winning Buzzer Beater to Beat FVSU

Samuel Hits Game-Winning Buzzer Beater to Beat FVSU

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- With 1.3 seconds left on the clock and down by two points, Jamesha Samuel received an in bounce pass at half court, then turned around and shot it as the ball went straight in, giving the Georgia Southwestern women's basketball team a 72-71 win over Fort Valley State University. 

The Lady Hurricanes (2-0) drained 23 free throws as that helped them take home the victory during Game 2 of the PBC/SIAC Challenge. 

How It Happened: The Wildcats got off to an 8-0 run to start off the game before Tamecia Blue put the Lady Hurricanes on the board with right under seven minutes left in the quarter. GSW went on a 9-0 run as a three by Madison Johnson tied the game at 12. Both teams traded shots, but the Wildcats took the upper hand going into the second quarter up, 17-14. 

Two minutes in the second quarter, a layup by Samuel tied the game at 18. Dominique Jeffery scored six points within two minutes, capped by a huge three-pointer as GSW took their first lead of the game with seven minutes left in the half. The second quarter consisted of nine lead changes and three ties, but GSW won the final two minutes of the quarter. A layup by Mariya Trimble tied the game at 28 and then they went on a 6-0 run to go into halftime up, 34-28. 

The Wildcats showed up in the third quarter as they quickly came out and tried to regain the lead. They came within one point but a layup by Lex Chatman kept GSW ahead by three. GSW stayed ahead until Wildcats Camille Saunders made two free throws to tie the game at 43. FVSU's 21-point third quarter gave them the advantage they were looking for to stay in the game but GSW took a one-point lead, 50-49, going into the final 10 minutes. 

GSW went into fourth quarter thinking they were going to stay ahead but the Wildcats had other plans as they wanted to claw their way out to the win. With five minutes left in the game, a layup by Towells put GSW up by five points. Two minutes later, Jah'ne Brown drained a three-pointer that pushed the Wildcats over GSW as they held a 60-58 lead with three minutes remaining. K'Shouri Hodge was fouled but made the layup as her three-point play pushed GSW ahead, 63-62, with 1:42 remaining. 

Samuel followed with her second three of the game to give GSW a two-point lead, 66-64, but Brown tied the score and gave the Wildcats the go ahead lead with 47 seconds left in the game. With both teams in foul trouble, GSW fouled Alicia Franklin who drained both of her free throws as they led 69-66. On the following possession, Trimble was fouled on the shot and received an and-1 that she completed to tie the game at 69 with 23 seconds remaining. Luckily, the Wildcats pushed the ball down the court as Franklin was able to score to take the lead. With a hailmary type pass to half court, Samuel received the ball and turned around to score the game winner as time ran out. 

GSW forced 39 turnovers but FVSU took a (55-31) advantage in rebounds. They also controlled the paint, scoring 38 points inside while GSW only scored 28. The Wildcats shot 50 percent from the field while the Lady Hurricanes only shot 31 percent. 

Who Stood Out: Samuel and Towells both led with 14 points as Towells added four rebounds and three steals while Samuel added one assist and two steals. Jeffery finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two steals while Chatman led the team with 10 rebounds and four steals. 

FVSU was led by Torri Myers, who finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds followed by Brown, who finished with 12 points and three steals. 

Up Next: The Lady Hurricanes will play Albany State during day two of the PBC/SIAC Challenge on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 5 p.m.