Blue Raiders drop heartbreaker to Iowa in overtime

IOWA CITY, Iowa - A tying three-pointer at the end of regulation combined by a 10-2 run in overtime helped the Iowa Hawkeyes snatch a 69-63 win over Middle Tennessee in the semifinals of the Preseason WNIT tournament.

The Blue Raiders (2-1) held a three point lead with 10 seconds left, but it was short-lived when Iowa's (3-0) Jamie Printy hit a triple from long range to tie the game with 1.6 seconds and send the contest to overtime.

From there, the Raiders were held in check as MT scored four points. Printy tallied eight points in overtime, six of which came from the charity stripe. The guard finished the night with a game-best 26 points.

Middle Tennessee was led offensively by Ebony Rowe, who scored a season-best 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. The double-double was the 34th of Rowe's career, moving her to fifth all-time. The forward completed a solid statline with four steals, three assists and two blocks.

Kortni Jones reached double figures with 15 points, grabbed four boards and dished out three assists in 44 minutes. Lebanon native Icelyn Elie corralled a season-best 14 rebounds and scored eight points against the Hawkeyes.

Middle Tennessee shot 31 percent (22-of-70) from the floor, while knocking down seven treys. Defensively, the Raiders collected 12 steals and forced 20 Iowa turnovers. MT outrebounded the Hawkeyes 46-to-40. Iowa shot 44 percent (24-of-55) from the field.

The first half went back and forth, but the Blue Raiders were able to hold a two point edge going into the locker room. Rowe paced the Raiders with 10 points and nine rebounds in the opening half as MT shot just 38 percent (13-of-34) , while knocking down five treys.

Laken Leonard added the first five points for the Raiders as MT took a 5-4 lead into the first media timeout. Elie made basket and a plus-one to give the Raiders a 13-10 lead at the 9:36 mark. From there the game was back and forth throughout the final nine minutes.

The Raiders added their largest lead in the half when Lauren March added a field goal, followed by back-to-back scores from Rowe.

In the second half, MT and UI battled in a game that went back and forth. With less than two minutes left, Iowa took a six point lead.  Leonard hit a trey to cut the deficit to within three.

Rowe capitalized on a Raider turnover to make it a 56-55 game. Shanice Cason added a pair of free throws to put the Raiders up by one with 1:01 left. Jones connected on two more freebies to put the Raiders with a 59-56 lead with 10 seconds left.

Printy hit a trey to send the game in overtime with 1.9 seconds left. Iowa outscored the Raiders 10-to-4 in the overtime period to take the win.

Middle Tennessee visits Tennessee Tech on Tuesday, Nov. 20 in Cookeville. Tip is slated for 5:30 p.m.

NOTES

Kortni Jones three treys tonight moved her into seventh all-time with 183, passing Sherry Tucker's standard of 182 ... Ebony Rowe reached her 64th double-figure scoring game in the first half with 10 points ... She also reached her 34th career double-double with 24 points and 16 rebounds ... Rowe moved into fifth all-time passing Robin Hendrix's mark of 33 ... Ebony Rowe moved into second all-time with 11 offensive rebounds on Wednesday, passing Prisicilla Robinson's total of 346 ... Rowe also moved to 13th all-time with 680 total rebounds ... The Blue Raiders fall to 4-3 in overtime games under coach Rick Insell.

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