BIRMINGHAM, ALA. --
Katelyn Wilson buried a key three-pointer in the final seconds to
help Birmingham Southern hold off Rose-Hulman 67-60 in the women's
basketball season opener for both schools on
Saturday.
Sophomore Alisa Dickerson (Elizabethtown, Ky.) provided the offensive punch for Rose-Hulman with a career-high 29 points.
Rose-Hulman fought back to within 59-57, before Wilson buried a three-pointer to give Birmingham Southern a five-point lead at the 1:16 mark.
The Panthers added one free throw to push the lead to 63-57, before Dickerson was fouled on a three-point play and hit all three free throws to move the Engineers within 63-60 in the final 30 seconds.
Wilson hit four more free throws in the final 10 seconds to secure the final margin of victory for Birmingham Southern.
Dickerson finished 10-13 from the field, 3-3 from three-point range and was 6-8 on the foul line with 10 rebounds in a career-best performance.
Sophomore Lauren Meadows (Indianapolis/Brebeuf Jesuit) added eight points and three rebounds. Junior Donna Marsh (Mobile, Ala./Baker) returned to her home state with six points and 11 rebounds.
Other key contributors for Rose-Hulman included freshman Heather Finnell (Decatur, Tenn./Cleveland) with five points and four rebounds, freshman Kelsey Ploof (Noblesville) with five points and three rebounds; and senior Nicole Klass (Evansville/ North) with four points and five rebounds.
The two teams battled to a 29-29 halftime tie in a tightly contested first half that featured less than a five-point margin for all 20 minutes.
Rose-Hulman overcame the hosts to earn a 44-42 lead with 11:49 left on a score by Dickerson. Birmingham Southern answered with nine straight points, and later a three-pointer by Dickerson brought the Engineers within 54-47 at the 7:37 mark.
Meadows added a layup and Dickerson scored three straight points to make the margin 56-52 at the 5:18 mark. Another Dickerson three-pointer made the score 58-57 at the 3:55 mark.
Rose-Hulman stands 0-1 on the season and squares off with
Louisiana College in a Sunday afternoon matchup in
Birmingham.