The Beloit College women's basketball team overcame a six-point first quarter deficit to send the game into overtime but eventually fell to Grinnell College 63-60 in the team's home finale Tuesday night.

The Buccaneers struggled to get their offense going in the first quarter. A plethora of turnovers and a proverbial lid on the basket had Beloit down 12-6 after the first 10 minutes of action. 

Beloit buckled down after the first outscoring Grinnell each of the next three quarters to treat the Buc faithful to extra basketball but it wasn't easy. The Bucs trailed by as much as seven with less than three minutes left in regulation when a pair of Hannah Welte free throws cut the lead to five and sparked a Beloit run. 

T'Aira Boyance registered the steal and went coast-to-coast with 1:19 on the clock. Following a single free throw at the 1:08 mark for the Pioneers, Beloit capitalized on a GC miscue with Elizabeth Kalk draining a three-pointer off a pass from Welte to pull the Bucs to within one, 53-52, with less than 25 seconds to go. 

A quick timeout to advance the ball for Grinnell was followed up by an equally as quick foul to send Grinnell back to the charity stripe. Hitting both, the Pioneers were up 55-52 with 22 seconds on the clock. Beloit followed suit with a timeout to advance the ball. Kalk found herself open from distance once again and knocked down another triple to tie the game 55-55 with around 20 seconds to go. 

Once again, Grinnell called time to advance the ball. Running the clock down, a Pioneer guard drove to the basket and tried to find a teammate in the paint but Kalk intercepted the pass, took a few dribbles and heaved as the buzzer sounded but the ball was off line sending the game into overtime. 

Neither team was efficient offensively in the five minute overtime period with over a minute and a half ticking off the clock before the score changed. Grinnell struck first with a layup but the Bucs countered courtesy of a Welte three off a Kalk assist to reclaim the lead. A jumper for the Pioneers with just over two minutes to go saw the lead switch hands once again, 59-58. Both teams missed a few opportunities until the squads traded a pair of jumpers to have the Pioneers still leading by one, 61-60 with 1:32 on the clock. Beloit couldn't connect on any of their chances in the final minute while a Pioneer jumper all but sealed the game with eight seconds remaining for the final, 63-60. 

Kalk had a phenomenal game with 29 points, her career high and the most for a Buccaneer since Shelby Kline's 27 back in 2017. She added a game-high five assists and grabbed five steals in teh game. Boyance joined Kalk in double figures with 11 while leading all players with six steals. Welte garnered team-high honors off the glass with nine rebounds in the contest.  Read Full Article