St. Norbert Outlasts Knox In Overtime

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, January 18, 2020 | Women's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College won for the third time in four games with a hard-fought 69-63 overtime win over Knox College in a Midwest Conference game on Connie Tilley Court at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.

The Green Knights fell behind in the overtime session after Knox's Jessica Lee banked in a 3-pointer on the first possession. St. Norbert and Knox traded a pair of empty possessions until the Green Knights' Natalie Cerrato banged home a 3-pointer at 2:59 to tie the game. Olivia DeCleene's free throw at 2:31 put St. Norbert ahead 60-59, followed by a Jessica Boerner basket at 2:12 for a three-point edge.

Knox's Nyah Daniels made a pair of free throws with 1:03 to go, but a Cerrato triple with 32 seconds to go put St. Norbert ahead by four and never led by less than that the rest of the way.

St. Norbert took a 5-0 lead to start the game but Knox responded to take a 12-9 lead after the first period. Neither team led by more than three points in the second quarter, with Knox carrying a 26-23 edge into halftime. Knox eventually opened up an 11-point lead at 42-31 with 2:27 left in the third quarter but the Green Knights whittled the deficit down to 44-39 at the end of the third quarter on a Cerrato buzzer-beater.

After Knox's Jarrelyn Mccall converted a conventional three-point play to open the fourth quarter, but St. Norbert responded with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 47-47 on a Sarah Neumann free throw. St. Norbert pulled ahead at 51-50 on a Jessica Boerner basket with 3:45 left. A pair of DeCleene free throws with 2:22 left put St. Norbert ahead 56-52, but Knox scored the last four points in regulation to force overtime.

St. Norbert shot 34.8 percent (23-for-66) from the floor. Boerner posted a career-high 19 points, while DeCleene added 12 points and Macie Zurfluh 11 points. The Green Knights held a slim 44-42 rebounding advantage.

Knox shot 36.2 percent (21-for-58) from the floor. Mccall led the Prairie Fire with 16 points, while Catessa Duran added 11 points.