Kenadie Lee scored 20 points as Berry's women's basketball team won its fifth game in a row with a 68-65 overtime victory over Simpson College at the Music City Classic in Gallatin, Tenn., Monday afternoon.
Sydney Blankenship and
Sylvia Kahoro each added a dozen points, with Kahoro making a pair of clutch free-throws in overtime to help seal the deal. Neither team had a double-digit lead in the game, with the Vikings largest margin coming at nine points and Simpson's at three.
A Blankenship jumper gave Berry the lead by nine one possession into the fourth quarter, but an 11-2 run by the Storm tied the game at 48-all with 7:16 to go in the period. After Simpson (2-7) took the lead, 53-52, Berry ran off six points in a row, with Blankenship,
McKenna Lentych and Lee each finding the bottom of the net. Simpson would come back to tie the score with five consecutive points, and after a missed shot in the final seconds, the game went to overtime.
Simpson scored first in the overtime session with a free-throw, but the first field-goal of the game by
Elizabeth Sierzant gave the Vikings the lead, 60-59. After another free-throw by the Storm, Lentych hit twice from the charity stripe and Sierzant drove the lane for a basket after a defensive stop, giving the Vikings a 64-60 lead. Simpson would trim the lead to two, but a Blankenship bucket as the game entered its final minute stretched the lead back to four. Kahoro's free-throws one trip down the floor later would provide a lead that the Storm couldn't overcome as Berry earned the win.
Ellie Gearing grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for Berry, with Lentych adding eight boards to her eight points. Lee had a game-best four assists.
Berry will be back in action tomorrow against St. Mary's of Indiana. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.