AUGUSTA, Ga. -- In a game where Augusta State's shooting kept coming and going, Brittany White found Tiffany Jaecks for a wide-open layup to tie the game with four seconds left in regulation, and then scored seven points in overtime to lead the Lady Jags to a 74-67 non-conference victory over the North Greenville Crusaders Saturday afternoon at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
With time running down, White dribbled through the Crusader press, driving into the line and drawing a double-team; Jaecks had snuck in behind her defender for a backdoor look, instead finding an uncontested bucket that knotted things up at the buzzer.
In overtime, White converted a 3-point play with 3:36 to play, putting ASU up 64-61 as the Lady Jags never looked back to seal the win.
Augusta State started hot, building a 12-point lead early thanks to torrid shooting and solid defense, capped by a 3-ball from White with 13:07 to play.
Both teams went six minutes without a basket, as turnovers plagued both offensive efforts. Finally, North Greenville began to chip away at the lead, first with a 6-0 spurt highlighted by Krisceda Cotton's steal and layup to trim the lead to eight, before a jumper with 1:17 remaining chopped the margin to two.
Amber Peterson's last-second runner in the lane hit its mark, breaking a scoreless three-minute stretch for the Lady Jags from the floor to give Augusta State a 31-27 lead heading into the half.
ASU began the second half much like the first, darting out to an eight-point lead before the Crusaders pulled even, finally taking their first lead of the game with 13:10 remaining on a Christina Carlis jumper. The lead see-sawed for a while, until North Greenville led 59-54 on a 3-ball by Landrie Fox and two free throws by Carlis.
But Peterson came through with another bomb to cut the lead to two, and the defense forced a turnover to set-up the thrilling end.
White led all scorers with a career-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting to go with six steals as she continually found easy baskets on breakaways and in the lane. Peterson dropped 15, including three 3-pointers, and Laci Schreiber chipped in 14 in the paint along with eight rebounds to lead the Lady Jags, who improved to 4-3 on the year.
Carlis had 14 points to lead the Crusaders, who fell to 6-2 on the season. Karly Stache (13 points, 6-of-12 shooting) and Cotton (13 points, 14 rebounds, eight offensive rebounds) also pushed the Lady Jags defensively.
The Lady Jags are back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at Flagler for a 5:30 p.m., Peach Belt Conference matchup in St. Augustine, Fla.