ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Down by four points in the final seconds of Friday's overtime contest against Houghton College, the Elmira College women's basketball team pulled off a miracle comeback, punctuated by a game-winning elbow jumper from Taylor Johnson '23 in a 72-71 stunner.

The Soaring Eagles (3-11, 1-3 E8) led by as many as 15 points during regulation, but a commendable effort by the Highlanders (2-12, 0-3 E8) brought Houghton all the way back in the fourth quarter. In the fourth alone, the Highlanders outscored EC 21-13, forcing Bridget Yaw '20 to connect on one of her two foul shots with 6.9 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime at 59-all.

Riding the momentum of the comeback, Cori Becker scored the first five points of overtime for Houghton, giving the Highlanders a 64-59 advantage. Their lead remained at five points inside the final minute, this time at 70-65. With 15.1 seconds on the clock, Alyssa Waters '22 sliced through the paint and finished with the left hand to bring Elmira within one possession, 70-67.

On the opposite end of the court, Becker would hit one of two tries from the line, widening the lead back to two possessions. Coming out of a timeout with an even 12 seconds on the clock, Waters restarted play with an inbound pass to Lauren Franklin '20, who kicked the ball out to the left corner for a wide-open Yaw 3-pointer that splashed through the net with 6.1 seconds to go.

What happened next shocked everyone inside Speidel Gymnasium. With a heavy press in the backcourt, Houghton's Caitlyn Cybart made an errant pass on the baseline, which was intercepted by Waters. The second-year guard made a heads-up play to dish the ball off to Johnson on the elbow, and the freshman found nothing but net.

Houghton's Hail Mary attempt at the buzzer was no good, sealing a wild win you had to see to believe.

In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Devin Shea when asked about what took place in the final seconds of overtime…
"We had some kids execute some good offense, make some great plays. Bridget Yaw knocked down a huge shot. We had really good composure overall and made a heads-up play with Mykenzie (Malacusky) picking up ball pressure after the knock-down three. Alyssa Waters had the quick hands to find the open man, and Taylor Johnson, a first-year, had the composure and willingness to take the shot."

Coach Shea on her message to the team to keep them in the game despite Houghton coming back to take the lead late in the game…
"The big thing that I was excited to see was that they were the ones that stayed level-headed. They showed composure, they were turning to me and said, 'Hey coach, we need a timeout here.' We called a timeout, sat down, and said, 'Alright, we have to grind.' There's no five-point play; there's no six-point play. We just have to grind it out."

News and Notes

• The Soaring Eagles logged their first Empire 8 victory of the season.
• Elmira secured its first overtime win since defeating Houghton, 52-49, on February 17, 2015.
• The win marked the second time this season EC came out on top despite getting out-rebounded
• Elmira produced its highest free-throw percentage of the season (90.9%).
• EC's free-throw percentage is the team's best when attempting 10 or more since January 18, 2003, when Elmira made 93.3% of its makes against Mount Saint Mary College.
• Franklin's 16 points were a career-high.
• Franklin produced a season-high seven assists.
• Breheny's 15 points were a career-high.
• Breheny logged her first double-double of the season the second of her career.
• Breheny pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds.
• Yaw's three steals were a career-high.

Up Next
Elmira returns to action tomorrow afternoon, when the Soaring Eagles welcome the Saxons of Alfred University to Speidel Gymnasium for a 4:00 p.m. Empire 8 tilt.