Women’s basketball team rallies to beat Earlham, 84-81, in season-opener

RICHMOND, Ind. – The Olivet College women's basketball team erased a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter for an 84-81 come-from-behind overtime victory over Earlham (Ind.) College in its season-opener tonight at the Druley Performance Gym.

Final Score: Olivet 84, Earlham 81
Location: Druley Performance Gym; Richmond, Indiana
Records: Earlham 0-1 overall, Olivet 1-0 overall

• In the first quarter, the Comets built a nine-point lead, 14-5. The Quakers fought back and trimmed their deficit down to two points, 17-15. Olivet scored the final three points of the quarter for a 20-15 advantage.
• Earlham opened the second quarter with a 7-2 run to tie the game at 22-22. The teams traded three-point baskets to create another tied score. The Quakers made a basket to take their first lead of the game with 4:29 left in the first half.  Olivet ended the quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 32-29 lead at halftime.
• The Quakers out-scored the Comets, 22-10, in the first seven minutes and 45 seconds of the third quarter to gain the largest lead of the game for either team at 51-42. Olivet closed the quarter with a 5-1 run to trail by five points, 52-47, to start the final quarter.
• Earlham pushed its lead to nine points twice in the early stages of the fourth quarter. After the second time at 60-51, the Comets put together a 19-2 run over the next four minutes to regain the lead 70-62 with 2:16 remaining in the contest. The Quakers answered with an 8-2 spurt to close the gap to two points, 72-70.
• Olivet had a chance to extend its lead with 20 seconds left but missed a pair of free throws. An Earlham player grabbed the defensive rebound and called a timeout to advance the ball to the front court. A Quaker jumper in the lane tied the game with 13 seconds remaining. The Comets had a chance to score the game-winning basket but the shot was off the mark.
• Olivet took a six-point lead, 80-74, following a fast-break layup around the midpoint of the first extra period. Earlham battled back with a 7-2 run to make the score 82-81. The Comets missed two more free throws with 18 seconds left. Amari Bradford pulled down the rebound for the Quakers. Bradford then missed a layup with five seconds remaining. Sophomore Zoee Zartarga grabbed the rebound for the Comets and immediately passed the ball to freshman Courtney Balazs. She was fouled and drained two free throws to seal Olivet's come-from-behind win.

• Junior Brianna Alexander led Olivet with 25 points, including 17 in the first half. She also had four assists and eight steals.
• Zartarga posted a double-double, 22 points and 16 rebounds.
• Junior Julia Decker scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
• Junior Rachel Swartz tallied nine points and six rebounds.

• Tonight's game was also the first official game for Olivet Head Coach Peter Sabiiti.
• With the game being settled in overtime, it is only the third overtime game in school history since the NCAA women's basketball went to four quarters (instead of two halves) at the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Alexander's 25 points is a single-game, career-best. Her previous high was 20 points at Adrian College on February 17, 2021.
• Zartarga played in eight games during her freshman season and scored 10 total points and grabbed 12 rebounds. She exceeded those totals in tonight's game.
• Olivet's 84 points is the most for a game since November 13, 2018, when it had 96 against Great Lakes Christian.
• The Comets won their season-opener for only the 19th time in school history.

• Bradford finished with 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting. She also notched 11 rebounds, four assists and five steals.
• Megan Helmkamp scored 14 points.
• Kinzi Brooks and Janaiya Bright registered 12 and 11 points, respectively.

• Olivet plays at Franklin (Ind.) College Friday night. Tip-off at the Spurlock Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.