Romine’s buzzer-beater gives Bison win over Army

Doug Hendry, Assistant Sports Editor

Shelby Romine’s ’14 running floater gave the Bison the 56-55 win against Army on Jan. 18 at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison then earned a 67-60 victory at Reitz Arena against Loyola (Md.) on Jan. 22.

With 4.9 seconds left on the clock after an Army layup, Romine dribbled the length of the court and scored on a high running shot over two taller defenders to secure the victory as time expired. Romine led all scorers with 19 points on 5-8 shooting, and this marked the fourth buzzer-beater for the Bison in their last three games.

“I looked up and saw that there was still some time left on the clock. All I was thinking was that I needed to get down the floor as fast as possible and get a shot off to give us a chance,” Romine said.

Even with an earlier injury to guard Katherine Harris ’15, the Orange and Blue were able to keep focus on the game and defeat Army. The game went back and forth, as Army led at halftime 24-21. Army then started to take over in the second half as they were up by as much as 14 before the Bison came storming back.

“I thought our team showed a lot of heart by fighting back when being down by 14 points mid-way through the second half. It really reveals our team’s sense of pride and willingness to compete even when down by such a large margin,” Claire DeBoer ’17 said.

Tyler Craig ’16 hit a layup to tie the game up at 51, and Romine hit a clutch three-pointer to give the Bison the lead with 24 seconds remaining. Thirty-five second-half points helped give the Orange and Blue the victory. They also were able to limit Kelsey Minato, the Patriot League’s leading scorer, to only 13 points, her second lowest total of the season.

“As a team we knew it all started with defense and making Army score in ways they aren’t used to. The team bought into the defensive plan and everyone was focused and knew their specific assignments on defense,” Craig said.

Audrey Dotson ’15 and Claire Maree O’Bryan ’16 both recorded 11 points, while Dotson grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. The Bison held Army to only 33.3 percent shooting, while the Bison were 5-10 from long range.

Four days later, the Orange and Blue faced Loyola. A slow start for both sides gave Loyola the 26-22 lead at halftime. Shots started to fall in the second half, and an 8-2 run to start the second half pushed the Bison ahead. Forty-five second-half points more than doubled their total from the first half, securing the seven-point victory.

Dotson recorded a double-double and tied her career-high in scoring with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Romine added 17 points and 7 rebounds, while DeBoer recorded five rebounds and dished out four assists. DeBoer earned her fifth Patriot League Rookie of the Week Award, and she currently leads all first-years in the conference in points per game, rebounds per game, and field goal percentage.

“We’ve learned to fight to the last second and continue to push ourselves in order to achieve the outcomes we want. The team dynamic this season is amazing and it’s great to have everyone buying in to each other,” Craig said.

The Bison (10-7 overall, 5-2 PL) are now in third place in the Patriot League and will look to continue their strong play at Boston University tomorrow at 1 p.m.

(Visited 126 times, 1 visits today)