The visitors built their lead as high as seven in the second half. But Quinnecia Twine's 3-pointer with 6:10 to play cut the Lady Stars' lead to two at 54-52, and her pull-up transition jumper 3 minutes later cut it to 58-57. Backcourt mate Taylor Broadnax finally put the home team on top with a baseline jumper with 2:13 to play.After a Lady Stars bucket reclaimed the lead for the visitors, sophomore forward Briana Gibson tied the score at 60 with a free throw and Nikarre Sesler grabbed the crucial offensive rebound off of Gibson's errant second attempt. TiChina Mitchell beat the shot-clock buzzer on the possession with an urgent drive to the basket and the game-winning hoop with 20 seconds to play.
Late-game hero Mitchell posted a game-high 19 points alongside 7 rebounds, while Twine added 15 and Gibson 11 points and 8 rebounds.
The Lady Patriots (12-14, 3-5 MFC) revived their flagging postseason aspirations with the victory. They host last-place Santa Fe on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. as part of CF's homecoming festivities.
