ANNAPOLIS, Md. – After falling 13 points behind in the second half, the LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team (2-3) rallied in Alumni Hall Wednesday night to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation, before beating Navy (4-3), 68-66 in overtime. Junior Shanovia Dove led LIU with a career-high 27 points in the win.

Navy opened scoring in the game, before senior Shanice Vaughan scored LIU's first points of the day. The guard's jumper in the paint tied the score at 4-4, and at 6:15, Dove gave the Blackbirds their first lead of the day on a jumper from the right wing, 6-4. Just minutes later, Dove capped the first quarter with three straight threes, including two in the last minute of play, giving LIU a 17-9 advantage at the end of the first period.

Back-to-back layups by Navy to open the second quarter cut the lead to 17-13, but a three by Dove, followed by a fast break layup by Vaughan widened LIU's lead to 22-13 with just over six minutes left in the half. The Mids answered by going on an 11-0 run, including three-straight three pointers, which gave the home team a 26-25 lead with just under two minutes left to play in the half.  

Strong shooting from long distance would keep the Blackbirds in the game, as sophomore Paris Jones hit back-to-back three pointers in the final 90 seconds of the half to put LIU back on top. Navy answered with a layup as time expired, but LIU took the lead into the break, 31-30.

The Midshipmen came out of the break on fire, opening the half with a three pointer and a quick layup, to take the lead in just over a minute, 35-31. From there, the home team would outscore LIU, 16-2, as the Blackbirds didn't score a field goal for the first nine minutes of the second half. Navy went into the fourth quarter with the 48-37 lead, and it seemed that momentum was on the side of the Mids.  

Early in the fourth quarter, however, LIU started to battle back. A fast-break layup from Jones and a free throw from senior Jolanna Ford helped the Blackbirds close the lead to eight, 48-40. LIU continued to chip away at Navy's advantage, and a layup by Vaughan cut the gap to six, 50-44, with just under seven minutes left to play. A minute later, sophomore Stylz Sanders hit a jumper from the elbow, and the Blackbirds were in striking distance, 50-46. Sanders continued the momentum for LIU, when she grabbed a rebound off Navy's shot, made the fast-break layup, and drew the foul, converting the traditional three-point play to cut the gap to 50-49 with 4:51 on the clock.

Navy was able to stay up, until Ford hit a three-pointer at the two minute mark to tie it up, 52-52. The Blackbirds would retake the lead just 14 seconds later, when Dove made a layup and drew the foul, hitting her free throw to put LIU up, 55-52 with 1:47 on the clock. Navy answered with back-to-back layups in twenty seconds to retake the lead, 56-55 with one minute left in regulation. The back-and forth continued, as Ford gave LIU the lead again with two made free throws at 44.5, 57-56. The Mids answered with a jumper and two made free throws, going up on LIU, 60-57 with 17 seconds left to play. On the next trip down the court, Dove was fouled on a three-point attempt, and the junior made all three free throws to tie the score up, 60-60. Navy's last-ditch attempt to win failed, and the two teams went to overtime.

It was the fourth straight game that Navy has had go to overtime, and the Mids came out on fire, scoring four quick points to take the lead, 64-60. At 2:46, Jones hit a step-back three to cut the lead to one, and LIU took the lead shortly after, when Jones hit two free throws to put LIU up, 66-65. In the end, Shanice Vaughan iced the win for LIU. The senior had a steal and made the fast break layup with 16 seconds left to put the Blackbirds up, 67-66. After Navy called a timeout and missed another shot, Vaughan was fouled with 3.3 seconds left, making one of two to put LIU up, 68-66. The Mids were unsuccessful in their final attempt to win the game, and the Blackbirds earned their second win of the season, 68-66.

Shanovia Dove led LIU with a career-high 27 points, along with nine rebounds and three assists, including 8-for-10 shooting from the free throw line. Sophomore Paris Jones added 15 points, while senior Shanice Vaughan had 11 points, six rebounds and four steals. Senior Jolanna Ford added eight points and nine rebounds in the win.

Up next, the Blackbirds host Colgate in the Steinberg Wellness Center, Saturday, December 5 at 2 p.m.
 
NOTES FROM THE NEST

• Dove's five three-pointers were the most for a Blackbird since 2012.
• Sarah Reilly led Navy with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Justice Swett added 10 points in the loss.
• The Blackbirds had 17 fast break points to Navy's 2, despite being out-rebounded, 51-42.
• Navy shot just 36 percent from the field, and 20 percent from behind the arc. LIU shot 47.4 percent from long distance in the win.