Martin's buzzer-beater lifts Seahawks over Golden Bears, 67-65

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 15, 2022) - Salve Regina University sophomore Olivia Martin (Hanson, Mass.) recovered a tipped inbounds pass and sank a game-winning two-pointer from the corner near her team bench as time expired in Seahawk women's basketball 67-65 win against the Golden Bears of Western New England University.

Martin had grabbed the defensive rebound following a missed Golden Bear free throw with three seconds remaining and the Seahawks called a timeout at mid court with just a tick left. Junior captain Morgan Shuey (Corning, Iowa), the game's leading scorer with 20 points, inbounded the ball in front of her bench and directed a pass to Martin's classmate, Brianna Neary (Wayne, N.J.), but senior Paige Brinkman (Schenectady, N.Y.) deflected the ball to the corner. The video camera in the clip below does not pan to the corner but it catches the result of Martin's shot swishing as the backboard lights up.

The teams were tied at halftime, 28-28, before Western New England began to take control in the third quarter. The Golden Bears outscored the Seahawks, 21-11, in the period with freshman Shaina Cooney (Montgomery, N.Y.) putting eight on the board. Senior Julia Quinn's (Thomaston, Conn.) 3-pointer with 7:06 remaining in regulation gave the hosts their largest lead (15 points; 58-43), but Salve Regina rallied with a 24-7 run to win the game.

The comeback did not commence until Amanda Folan (North Attleboro, Mass.) hit a 3-pointer at 5:47 in the fourth. Shuey followed with a layup to cut the deficit to 10 points, 58-48. Shuey made a pair of free throws before Brinkman completed a jumper. A pair of free throws from Neary preceded a layup for Ashley Rourke (Londonderry, N.H.), who had collected an offensive rebound after Martin had blocked a Golden Bear shot at the other end.

The Seahawks benefitted from a Golden Bear turnover and Neary sank a layup that pulled the visitors within four, 60-56, with 2:46 on the clock.

Neary had two more layups that brought the Seahawks within three (63-60) before Abby Garaban (Maplewood, N.J.) scored her team's last points with a couple from the charity stripe with 1:47 remaining. Shuey followed with two foul shots seven seconds later. Neary's defensive rebound with less than a minute to play led to an old-fashioned three-point play for Rourke who tied the score at 65-all with 48 seconds left.

Both teams had single-shot chances on their next possessions, before Neary stopped a breakaway opportunity for Western New England with a personal foul and eight seconds on the clock. Martin grabbed the carom on the in-and-out miss on the second free throw, and moved it upcourt to Shuey. Martin completed the comeback after a Seahawk timeout.

Salve Regina (5-6, 4-1 CCC) had three others in double-figure scoring in addition to Shuey's game-high 20 points - Neary with 16, Folan finished with 13, and Rourke rang in 10 for the Seahawks. Western New England (4-10, 2-5 CCC) falls for the sixth time in its last seven games, and the Golden Bears remain winless at home (0-6). Garaban's 17 points was high mark for the Golden Bears while Cooney led all players with nine rebounds.