The GCC Samsons fell in OT 65-62 to the Viterbo Hawks JV Squad on Monday night in La Crosse, WI in an exhibition matchup. It was a highly contested game that saw multiple ties and lead changes.
Behind 7 points from Freshman Kate Borseth and 6 from Sophomore Kylee Hewitt, the Samsons took an early 16-9 first quarter lead. GCC's offense slowed down a bit in the second quarter and Viterbo got their offense rolling. Despite only scoring 7 points in the second quarter, GCC went into halftime only down 4, 27-23. The Hawks led most of the third quarter, but GCC never let them get out of reach. The Samsons slowly cut into the Viterbo lead, and with 1:04 left, Freshman Annabelle Besonen hit a 3 to pull GCC within 2, 40 to 38. After a defensive stop, Besonen hit a floater in the lane with 27 seconds left to tie things at 40. GCC Freshman Kadence Beeksma was fouled with 3.6 seconds to go and hit both from the charity stripe to give the Samsons the 42 to 40 lead going into the fourth quarter. GCC went on a run to start the final quarter and led 49-44 with 5:08 remaining. The Hawks stormed back to take the lead 50-49 with 3:44 left to play. Borseth hit a 3-pointer on the next possession to give the Samsons back the lead 52-50 with 3:01 to go. Freshman Lilly Johnson fouled out on the next possession and the Hawks split the pair of free throws, giving GCC just a one point lead, 52-51 with 2:24 left. The Hawks hit a 3-pointer on their next possession, taking back the lead 54-52. After empty possessions by both teams, Hewitt nailed a shot in the paint with 6.3 seconds left to tie the game at 54. Besonen blocked the Viterbo shot attempt after their timeout advanced the ball to half court. She grabbed the ball after the block and got it to Hewitt who threw up a shot for the win with 2.1 seconds left but it was off the mark, sending the contest into overtime.
The Hawks quickly went ahead 58-54 to start the extra session, but Hewitt drilled a 3-pointer off a nice pass from Borseth to get GCC back within one point, 58-57. Borseth responded on the next Samson possession with a 3-pointer of her own, giving GCC a 60-58 lead with just over three minutes remaining. Viterbo responded with back to back buckets, taking the 62-60 lead, but Hewitt scored inside with less than two minutes left to knot the score again at 62. The Hawks scored inside and then split a pair of free throws to take the 65-62 lead with 26.7 seconds to go. Kate Borseth stole the ball from Viterbo in the closing seconds and was able to get a nice look from 3-point range, but was unable to get the shot to drop and force a second overtime session.
Hewitt led the Samsons with 25 points and 7 rebounds. Borseth added 15 points and 7 rebounds, while Besonen chipped in with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
GCC is at home this weekend for the 2023 Lindquist Classic.
