by Caitlin McCarthy
Executive Staff
Photo courtesy of sewaneetigers.com
When the Sewanee Women’s Basketball team took the court on Friday, January 30, they were greeted by loud cheers as “YSR!” filled Juhan Gymnasium. The White Out Game brought the students, faculty, and community together to support the Tigers in their battle against the Oglethorpe University Stormy Petrels.
Oglethorpe started the game with an immediate 3-pointer, proving to the Lady Tigers that an uphill battle was ahead. The fierce Lady Tigers were not deterred, and forward Casey Hassett (C’16) made the first Sewanee score of the game a mere 25 seconds later. A few minutes into the first half, Sewanee Coaches Tom Campbell and Amber Gilliam called a timeout as the scoreboard read 12-6, Oglethorpe. Firing up the Tigers, they immediately upped their game. The first half had both teams scoring over and over, vying for the big W. By halftime the score was an impressive 41-41 tie. The two teams met their match in each other. Passion, skill, and determination radiated through the players as they ran extensive plays, upped their defense, and took shot after shot. Hassett returned to make the first shot of the second half, a perfect jump shot, proving that the Lady Tigers were not giving up anytime soon.
After several minutes of missed shots by both teams, guard Hannah McCormack (C’18) made a beautiful 3-pointer. Oglethorpe went on to make two shots, a three-pointer and a free throw. Sewanee answered with a yet another three pointer by McCormack, then a jump shot by guard Jamie Chauvin (C’16). With just under 15 minutes in the game remaining and a score of 49-51, Sewanee, the nervous Oglethorpe coaches called a timeout.
Meanwhile the crowd was on the edge of their seats. This action-packed, back and forth game was a nail-biter. One player on the Oglethorpe team, Emily Buck, made a consecutive, uninterrupted five shots, prompting the Tigers to worry. Hassett finally ended Buck’s streak with yet another 3-pointer, tying up the score to 56-56.Both teams continued to give 100%. With 2:28 left on the clock, Chauvin made both free throws, tying the game to 74-74. Fifty seconds passed by with no new scores as the teams both upped their defense until Chauvin scored again with a layup.
Sewanee had the lead by a mere two points. Oglethorpe’s Buck came back with a jump shot, tying the game yet again to 76-76. Chauvin made another free-throw, bringing Sewanee up to a slim 1 point lead. With four seconds left in the game, Oglethorpe scored a 3-pointer. With a fanatic crowd cheering them on, the Lady Tigers put every effort into those last four seconds, but luck was not on their side. As the buzzer rang McCormack futilely tried for one last three pointer, to no avail. Both teams had an incredible game but sadly, Oglethorpe left with the win.It was an incredibly close game. The biggest lead occurred when the score was 70-63, Sewanee with 7:57 left on the clock, but the lead fluctuated throughout the matchup. The Lady Tigers played outstandingly. McCormack scored a total of 21 points, Chauvin 20 points, Hassett 15 points, forward/center Rebekah Faulkner (C’18) 10 points, and forward Kayla Sewell (C’15) 9 points.The outpour of support definitely invigorated the Tigers and was a welcome part of their last home game for regular season. YSR!