Roaring Lions Win OT Thriller At Brandywine

MEDIA Pa. -- Things looked bleak for the Roaring Lions. Trailing by two with 5.4 seconds to go in regulation, Kasey Ruble (Fairchance, Pa.) dribbled the length of the court. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Caitlin Wontroba breaking free an a back door cut to the basket. The junior point guard threaded the needle and Wontroba lay-up hung tantalizingly on the rim before dropping at the buzzer to force overtime. Fayette went on to win 91-85 in overtime.

The layup capped a furious comeback for the Roaring Lions. Trailing by 10 at halftime to one of the best teams in the PSUAC and down five with less than a minute to go, Fayette found a way to get the game to overtime, where the Roaring Lions outscored Brandywine 12-6. During the extra frame, Fayette was six for eight from the free throw line, with Kaitlyn Novak (Bobtown, Pa.) sinking the final one with four seconds to go to seal the win.

Wontroba lead all scorers with 29 points and had five steals. Novak added 23, and grabbed seven rebounds. Jill Guthrie (Uniontown, Pa.) recorded a double-double, scoring 17 and pulling down 11 rebounds to go along with five steals. Ruble scored 14 , grabbed eight rebounds and had a game-high six assists, none more important than her picture perfect pass to Wontroba.

The win improved Fayette's record go 11-10, 10-2 in the PSUAC. The win matched the school record for wins in a season for the five-year-old program and marks the first time the team has been above .500 this late in the season.

Fayette is currently trails Penn State DuBois by one-half game for the Western Conference lead and also in the overall PSUAC standings.

The Roaring Lions host DuBois on Tuesday, Feb. 14 in a showdown with a 6 p.m. tip.

Fayette is assured a top four seed in the tournament and will host a first round game on Feb. 20 or 21.