Women’s basketball team defeats Maryville, 74-72 in opening round game of Mt. St. Joseph Tournament

Behind a career-high 25 points from senior Sarah Mangold (Sterling Heights/Bishop Foley) and a layup by freshman Olivia Yarrell (Lansing/Sexton) with five seconds left, the Olivet College women's basketball team rallied to beat Maryville (Tenn.) College, 74-72, this afternoon in the opening round of the College of Mt. St. Joseph (MSJ) Tournament at the Harrington Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Comets will play the host Lions in the championship contest tomorrow at 5 p.m.

At halftime, Olivet trailed by nine points, 37-28. The Scots built their lead to as many as 15 points, 45-30, with 16:28 left in the game. The Comets slowly chipped away at their deficit over the next three and half minutes and back-to-back three-pointers by Mangold made it a one-point game, 48-47.

A three-pointer by Mangold with 8:05 remaining gave the Comets their first lead of the game at 59-57. Maryville answered with a three to go back up by a point, but another three by Mangold made the score, 62-60. The Scots quickly tied the game with a jumper. Mangold had the answer with a three-pointer to put Olivet ahead for good at 65-62.

Maryville's Jeanna Dalton canned three free throws with 38 seconds left to tie the game at 72-72. Olivet called a timeout with 23 seconds left. Off a shot by senior Vallen VanZyll (Lowell), Yarrell grabbed the offensive rebound and knocked in the game-winner. A last second three-point attempt for the Scots fell short.

The Comets were led by Mangold's 25 points, making 8-of-11 baskets, including a perfect 7-of-7 from behind the three-point arc. Senior Lauren Fishwick (Trenton) joined her in double figures with 10 points. Off the bench, Yarrell pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

Maryville was led by Colleen McConnell with 19 points. Natalie Munday added 16 and Jeanna Dalton had 13. McConnell and and Alicia Brown each collected five rebounds.

Following tomorrow's game, Olivet will be idle until next Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 29-30, when it hosts the 2008 Comet Classic. Olivet will play Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) University Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The other first round game features Notre Dame College of Ohio vs. Ohio Wesleyan University at 5:30 p.m.