LAKE FOREST, IL - The Benedictine University women's basketball team kicked off the season by rallying in the fourth quarter to force overtime and notch a road victory over Lake Forest College.

FINAL SCORE
Benedictine 59, Lake Forest 51 - OT

THE DETAILS
• After falling behind on the first possession of the game, D'Asia Williams hit a pair of three-pointers to give Benedictine the early lead
• Lake Forest responded with eight straight points, moving ahead 10-6
• Samantha McCarthy evened the game with 2:07 to play in the opening quarter by connecting on the fourth three-pointer of the game for Benedictine
• Lake Forest scored the final four points of the quarter to lead 16-12 after one
• The hosts led by five late in the first half but a bucket from McCarthy with just over a minute remaining cut the deficit to 25-23 at the break
• Williams tied the game at 29-29 three minutes into the second half but Lake Forest embarked on a 12-0 run to move ahead by double figures at 41-29
• Benedictine entered the fourth down 41-31
• Williams opened a 15-0 run with a layup at the 7:44 mark of the third to ignite Benedictine
• Venita Parsons scored the final seven points of the run, knocking down a three to put Benedictine ahead for the first time since the opening quarter
• A pair of free throws from Parsons in the final minute made the score 48-45
• Lake Forest scored the final three points to send the game to an extra five minutes
• Benedictine scored the first three points of the extra session on a free throw from Georgia Alexakos and a layup from Alena Moro
• Parsons drained a three-pointer with just over two minutes left to push the lead to 54-50, opening an 8-1 run to close the game

FROM THE COACH
"What an amazing team win to open the season," said second year head coach Charlie Averkamp. "We played hard the whole 45 minutes. Our shots didn't fall early, but we did a great job of continuing to defend. Venita (Parsons) played an unbelievable game on both ends of the floor. Alena (Moro) was huge with 18 rebounds. We received great contributions from everyone on the team."

STAT LEADERS
• Three players scored in double figures for Benedictine led by 17 from Parsons, a game high
• Williams finished with 16, making seven field goals, and added 10 rebounds for a double-double
• Alexakos also reached double digits with 11
• Benedictine shot only 28 percent in the game but held a commanding 61-43 edge on the glass
• Moro scored only two points, but reeled in 18 rebounds in 31 minutes of action

UP NEXT
Benedictine (1-0) travels to Manchester College in Indiana this weekend and faces Oglethorpe on Friday night