SALEM, Va. – The Bridgewater College women's basketball team defeated Guilford 86-79 in double overtime on Friday afternoon in an instant classic.
 
THE BASICS
Final Score: Bridgewater 86, Guilford 79
Records: Bridgewater 18-7; Guilford 18-7
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Eagles started off the scoring on a pair of free throws by Jaden Alsberry to go up 2-0 in the early minutes. Riley Corcoran added to the scoreline off a pass down low from Alsberry to double the lead to 4-0. The Quakers got on the board with a triple by Anna Giannopoulou to cut the deficit to 4-3 going into the first media stoppage of the game. Guilford came out of the under-five media timeout and took an early lead off a trey from Zoe Bayer, 6-4, but a driving lay up from Kayla Ford knotted the game at 6-6 with 3:15 left in the first quarter. Back-to-back baskets by the Quakers put the No. 5 seed up 10-6 before a Jaiden Polston basket pulled the Eagles within two. Ashtyn Ziegler drilled a three, the Quakers third of the opening quarter, and the Eagles responded with a turnaround jumper from Jay Garcia as the score sat at 13-10 after the first 10 minutes.
•  Another three from the Quakers started the second quarter but a transition basket from the Eagles kept the score close. Bridgewater capitalized on three of the next four baskets after a three from Rosemary Pierson and a pair of lay ups from Abby Freeman and Alsberry to take the lead, 19-18, with 7:08 left in the half. A Giannopoulou free throw and five-straight points from Carleigh Perry put the Quakers up 24-19 into the media. Guilford extended its run with another three to come out of the break to go up 27-19 for the largest lead of the first half. Bridgewater responded with a Corcoran jumper and an Aylin Humphries trey got the Eagles back in the contest with 2:11 in the half. Guilford held on for a 31-29 edge at the game's intermission.
• The Eagles tied it up out of the break with a layup from Alsberry and took the lead after Corcoran's attempt from the floor was true, 33-31. Both teams exchanged baskets for the next several minutes leading up to a pair of free throws by Corcoran to tie the game at 39-39 with 5:49 left in the third quarter. A Corcoran free throw and a Perry layup set the score to 41-40 in favor of the Quakers leading into the under-five media stoppage. Humpherys made a free throw to tie the game and Freeman followed after a stop on the defensive end to out BC in front. Guilford followed with a three-pointer on cue to wrestle the lead back. The Quakers stretched the lead out to 46-43. BC scored on back-to-back possessions on the hands of Rosemary Pierson to go back in front 47-46. The Quakers scored on consecutive possessions to the end frame ahead 49-47.
• BC one more opened the fourth on a 4-0 run to take a 51-49 lead. Guilford stepped back in front to take a 52-51 lead with 7:40 to play in regulation. The Eagles made a pair of free throws to slide ahead at 53-52, but a Bayer three-pointer gave Guilford a two-point edge. Alsberry tied the game back up and a Freeman layup put the Eagles in front by a pair with under three minutes to play. Another 4-0 run for Guilford put them back in front, but another Alsberry second-chance effort evened the game once more with 1:59 to play. GC drilled a three-pointer with 1:18 to play , but Jay Garcia found Alsberry to cut the lead to one. Giannopoulou made a pair at the line to make it a three-point game with 12 seconds left on the clock in regulation. Out of a timeout, BC worked from the sideline. The Eagles worked the ball around and Pierson was trapped with a defender on either side. The junior fired an off balance shot that found nothing but nylon to send the game to the extra period at 64-64.
• Bridgewater started the extra frame on a 4-0 run to step ahead. Giannapoulou made a pair at the line to get GC on the board in the extra frame, but not until it was halfway over. Freeman made a pair at the line in response and an Alsberry score made it a six-point BC lead with 45 seconds to play. Guilford went to its strength as Courtney McMillan drained a three-pointer to cut the lead in half. The Eagles turned the ball over and Guilford went to work again and the Quakers drilled another three-pointer to tie the game. The GC defense parted for Freeman with eight seconds on the clock. She dumped the ball off to Alsberry with time winding down, but the shot couldn't find the nylon and sent the game to double overtime.
• Another 4-0 run to start a period sent the Eagles in front 76-72 with 3:49 to play in the period. Guilford struck back, but Garcia kissed a layup off the glass and in to make it 78-74 for BC. Guilford struck back to get within a possession, but a 5-0 BC run put the Quakers backs to the wall as they trailed 83-76 with 43 seconds to go. McMillan drained a three-pointer off the glass to cut the lead to four and GC had to foul. Corcoran made a pair at the line and a stop and a make from Alsberry at the line as well iced the game away.

MATCH NOTES

• Alsberry set an ODAC Women's Basketball Tournament record with 26 rebounds. The senior from Strasburg, Va. Teamed that up with a 19-point effort in the win. Her 26 boards is also a program record for rebounds in a game.
• Freeman also registered a double-double with a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds. Corcoran added 19 points and five assists.
• Zoey Bayer led Guilford with a game-high 21 points. Giannopoulou added 13 points and nine rebounds.
• The game was the first ODAC Women's Tournament game to go to overtime since 2019 and was the first ever double overtime game in the history of the women's tournament.

NEXT UP
The Eagles will turn around and clash with the top seed No. 21 Washington and Lee in the semifinal round on Saturday at 6 p.m. to open the evening session.