The Aurora University Spartans captured their second consecutive Northern Athletics Conference contest Wednesday night in Thornton Gymnasium, defeating the visiting Stars of Dominican University 70-69.
The Spartans found themselves
in an early hole though as the Stars jumped out to an early 16-4 lead six minutes into the game thanks to a stingy Star defense that forced the Spartans into five early turnovers.
AU responded with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes, cutting the lead to three (16-13) after a jumper by junior forward Michelle Perry.
The streaky first half continues as the Stars rattled off a 14-6 run to extend their lead back to 11 points (30-19) with six and a half minutes left to play in the first half.
That is when the Spartans closed off the first half with a 15-4 run, knotting the contest at 34 going into the halftime break. In the Spartans run to close the first half, Perry had six points to spark the AU comeback.
Top Spartan performers included Perry (14 points and seven rebounds) and freshman guard Angela Smith (five points). The Stars were led by senior guard Lisa Julkowski, who had 17 points on four-of-six shooting from three-point range.
The second half was much like the first half of action, as the Stars
jumped out to a six point lead (46-40) with 16 minutes to play and held the lead for the first 10 minutes of the second half.
With 8:56 to play in the game, the Spartans grabbed the lead (58-56) and would hold on the rest of the game, despite some tense moments in the final minute.
AU extended their lead to eight points (66-58) with seven minutes to play on a jumper in the lane by senior center Brianna Leland.
But just as the rest of the game had gone, the Stars had another run in store for the host Spartans. The Dominican run this time was a 9-2 run that was fueled by two three-point field goals by senior guard Angel Betts.
The Spartans Perry hit both of her free-throws with 46 seconds to play, giving the Spartans a three-point lead at 70-67.
After a Dominican missed three-pointer and a quick foul was committed which was not enough to place the Spartans into the bonus and subsequent free-throws. Following the inbounds pass to sophomore guard Jen Robinson, Robinson turned over the ball and committed the teams ninth foul of the half, putting Dominican sophomore forward Kaitlin Flannery at the free-throw line.
Flannery knocked down both of her shots, giving the Spartans a tight one-point lead at 70-69 but the craziness of the contest was not over.
Spartan freshman forward Becky Gifford missed the first of her one and one free throw which led to a Dominican timeout with nine seconds to play and a final attempt to win the game.
The Spartan defense forced the Stars into a tough shot with the reb
ound straying out of bounds and giving the Spartans possession with three seconds to go and what the home crowd assumed would be an AU victory.
But the games drama and craziness had yet to reach its pinnacle and it once again involved a Robinson turnover. On the inbounds play, Robinson’s pass went straight into the hands of Dominican sophomore forward Danielle Miller at the Stars free-throw line.
Miller’s last second shot attempt bounced off the rim, giving the Spartans a heart-thumping one point victory, 70-69.
Top Spartan performers included Perry (18 points and 11 rebounds), Gifford (17 points) and sophomore guard Emily Beck (11 points), while Dominican was led by Julkowski (22 points) and Betts (13 points).
With the win, the Spartans improve to 5-10 (4-6 NAC) while the Stars fall to 7-9 (3-7 NAC).