It may have been Genevieve Campbell’s birthday, but the sophomore guard delivered Texas A&M University-Commerce the present with a game-winning 3-pointer that pushed the Lions past the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars, 66-65, on Tuesday night.
“It was great to see Genevieve Campbell hit a game-winning 3-pointer on her birthday,” said Lions head basketball coach Denny Downing. “I know she’ll remember that for a long time, and so will I.”
Trailing by two after a Melia Duncan layup and a Jenny Wuest free throw, senior guard Britney Jordan raced down the court and found Campbell in the corner. The Rockwall, Texas native drained the shot with 13 seconds remaining to help the Lions extend their season-long winning streak to four games.
“It was good that the team counted on me,” said Campbell, who finished with 11 points. “We just worked hard as a team.”
A&M-Commerce is now 7-2 for the season and 4-0 at the A&M-Commerce Field House, where they have won 11 straight dating back to last season. SIUE has now lost 14 in a row and sits 1-14 overall.
After taking a 28-25 advantage into the half, the Lions extended their lead to 11 at the 11:05 mark on a jumper from Nakazi Glover. A&M-Commerce remained in control until a bucket by Brittany Imig with 8:23 remaining sparked the Cougars on a 12-2 run that put SIUE up two.
Both teams traded ties and leads over the final 5:30 before A&M-Commerce forced the Cougars into a missed jumper at the buzzer.
Nola Taylor paced A&M-Commerce with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Jordan followed with 11 points and seven rebounds for her ninth straight game in double figures this season.
Duncan scored a game-high 16 points for SIUE, Imig chipped in 15 and Wuest added 12.
The Lions will hit the road for their next two matchups, with the first coming against Abilene Christian on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Moody Coliseum.
