JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- The game was tied at 60 with under two minutes left in overtime. Thirty-two games of basketball, countless school and individual records. A season's worth of worth came down to this.
The Dolphins called timeout and dialed up a play in the huddle. As the teams broke to the court, Jacksonville swung the ball around the arc and settled into a set play. Freshman Tatum Brown tossed up a lob to sophomore Comari Mitchell who finished off the layup.
From there, history was secure.
The Jacksonville Dolphins (24-9) defeated the Austin Peay Governors, 66-63, in the ASUN Tournament Championship. This is Jacksonville's second-ever ASUN Championship and second trip to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
The Dolphins were led by graduate student guard Priscilla Williams who scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Junior Carmaya Bowman and sophomore Comari Mitchell both added 10 points to round out the scoring for Jacksonville.
Senior Makiya Miller scored nine points, closing out a historic tournament run for the senior transfer. She won ASUN Tournament Most Outstanding Player, scoring 49 points across three games to help lead the Dolphins to a historic championship run.
JU led from the opening quarter until the fourth quarter, and even after the Dolphins trailed, they rallied at the end of the fourth and into overtime. Jacksonville outscored the Governors 10-7 in overtime to pull out the victory.
"We got them," head coach Special Jennings said when the teams went to overtime.
In the opening three quarters, Jacksonville outscored Austin Peay, 49-41. The Dolphins were led by Williams, dicing up the defense in the first quarter. She dished out four assists in the first half, spearheading the Jacksonville offense.
Brown drilled a three-pointer in the corner, putting the Dolphins up nine with under five minutes left in the first half. Austin Peay scored a handful of buckets at the end of the half, but Miller hit a buzzer-beater to end the half and put JU up 32-26 at the break.
The third quarter started strong for the Dolphins, with Williams and Bowman putting Jacksonville up 12 early in the period. Mitchell finished in the paint, putting JU up 45-32. The Governors cut the lead to nine heading into the fourth quarter, setting the tone the battle to come.
Austin Peay cut the deficit to three, and then took a three-point lead with 87 seconds left in the game. Mitchell played hero, for the first but not the last time, finishing a tough layup to cut the deficit to one.
Then Miller took the ball to the paint, drawing a foul. She went one for two from the line, setting the stage for an overtime finale.
Neither team could pull ahead in the first half of overtime, setting a 60-60 tie with two minutes to play. Mitchell's layup put the Dolphins up 62-60. With under a minute to go, sophomore Mychal White jumped on a pass to give the ball back to Jacksonville.
White put the game away, faking a triple and burying a pull-up two to give JU a four-point lead. After an Austin Peay triple, Miller hit a pair from the free throw line to close things out and secure a place in history for the Dolphins.
Game Notes
- The Dolphins secured their second-ever ASUN Championship, joining the 2015-16 team.
- Jacksonville tied the 2017-18 team with a program-record 24 wins.
- The Dolphins have won 13 of their last 14 games.
- Williams added to her ASUN lead with her 11th double-double.
- Jacksonville is 3-0 in overtime games this season.
Head Coach Special Jennings, Graduate Student Priscilla Williams and Sophomore Comari Mitchell
Up Next
The Dolphins are going dancing for just the second time ever. On Selection Sunday, this coming Sunday, they will learn their opening round opponent in the NCAA Tournament.
