January 26, 2006
Richards’ buzzer-beater lifts Lady Monarchs past Meredith 78-77
Methodist rallies from 19 points down for second straight victory

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Doris Richards waited four years for a moment like Thursday night, and she delivered for the Methodist Lady Monarchs when it counted the most.

The senior guard drained a 15-foot jump shot in traffic as time expired to give Methodist a thrilling come-from-behind 78-77 victory over in-state rival Meredith at the Riddle Center. The victory was the second straight for Methodist (8-7), and the fourth in its last five games. In addition, the Lady Monarchs have now won seven straight games against their regional non-conference rivals.

It appeared that the Lady Monarchs wouldn’t get close to the shining moment. Meredith shot 75 percent from 3-point range in the first half to lead 43-27 at halftime, and then built a 19-point lead early in the second half. However, Methodist worked its way back into the game thanks to strong second half efforts by Richards, Courtney Bissette and Stacy Williams.

Six free throws and a jumper by Richards trimmed the Meredith lead to 65-59 with 6:21 remaining. Bissette then drained a huge 3-point basket at the 5:32 mark to cut the deficit to 65-62. After Meredith extended the lead to six points, Williams scored on an in-bounds play, was fouled and then sank the free throw for the three-point play to bring the Lady Monarchs to within 69-67 with 3:17 remaining.

Trailing by two points, Richards tied the game at 73-73 on a driving lay-up at the 1:55 mark, but lay-ups by Nicole Hall and Amira Issa put the Angels back in front 77-73 with 51 seconds remaining. However, Bissette drained another 3-point basket with 30 seconds remaining, pulling the Lady Monarchs to within a point.

Methodist fouled Meredith’s Elizabeth Turner with 14 seconds remaining, and she missed both ends of two free throws, giving the Lady Monarchs possession with 12 seconds remaining. Following the timeout, Richards drove to left side of the free throw line, where she was stopped in her tracks by two Meredith defenders. However, her last-second jumper rattled home as a buzzer sounded.

Bissette paced Methodist with 18 points on 4-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, while Williams scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Richards scored a career-high 14 points, followed by Antionett Holliday with her third double-double on the season (10 points, 10 rebounds).

For Meredith (7-7), Hall scored a game-high 26 points, followed by Autumn Metzger with 24 points. Nicole Miller added 10 points for the Angels.

Methodist has a crucial two-game road swing in the USA South Athletic Conference this weekend. The Lady Monarchs play at Christopher Newport at 2 p.m. on Saturday and at Shenandoah at 2 p.m. on Sunday.