NASHVILLE –  Claira McGowan broke the Lipscomb NCAA Division-I scoring record, erupting for 37 points and nine rebounds, in the Bisons 94-82 double overtime win over North Florida Saturday afternoon. The win gives the Bisons their seventh conference win of the season and 14th overall win, already the second most under head coach Lauren Sumski. 

Four other Bisons reached double figures against the Ospreys. Blythe Pearson was the Bisons' second leading scorer with 17 points and also brought down nine rebounds. Aleah Sorrentino scored double digits for the fourth straight outing, going for 16 points and five rebounds. Molly Heard rounded out the leading scorers for the Bisons, scoring 13 points with eight rebounds and five assists. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Lipscomb began to build a lead midway through the first quarter. Up 13-9, McGowan put in a short jumper in the painted area, which sparked a six-point swing for the Bisons to put them up 10 with 2:10 on the clock in the opening period. UNF closed the quarter strong, outscoring Lipscomb in the final two minutes 5-1 to cut their deficit to three by the end of the quarter (20-17).

The Bisons reached their largest lead of the first half at the 3:53 mark of the second period on a straight-line drive to the cup to make the score 32-19. Teams traded buckets for the remainder of the frame as the Bisons took an 11-point advantage (40-29) into the half. 

A high-scoring third quarter for both squads resulted in a 64-49 end-of-third-quarter advantage for the Bisons. Lipscomb looked liked they'd cruised to victory, but North Florida dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Bisons 24-9 in the frame. The Ospreys were down by as much as 15 in the third quarter but managed to put themselves in a position to tie it with a last second shot. With time expiring in regulation, UNF forward Emma Broermann, got a stick back on a missed jumper to fall to force overtime.

In the first overtime period, UNF buried a three-pointer at the 1:23 mark to take their first lead of extra time. With 31 seconds remaining, Heard connected on the tail-end of two free throw attempts to even the score at 78-all. Lipscomb got a stop when they needed it most to force a second overtime. 

The Bisons went on an 8-0 run to open the second overtime. Lipscomb controlled the frame from start to finish, outscoring the Ospreys 14-4 in the five-minute period. As a result, Lipscomb earned a 94-82 double overtime win, their second straight victory, snapping a two-game home losing skid.  

HERD NOTES:

• McGowan has scored double-digits in each of the last five games and 15 times this season. Saturday's performance was the third time in her career that she's reached 20+ points this season, the other two times coming against ETSU (23) and North Florida (20).
• Lipscomb shot 43 percent from the floor, hitting 31 of their 72 attempts.
• The Bisons knocked down eight threes against the Ospreys. Lipscomb improves to 12-1 this season when hitting seven or more threes.
• Lipscomb snagged 52 rebounds Saturday afternoon, tied for the second-most team rebounds of any game this season. 
• McGowan buried 14 of the Bisons 24 free throws Saturday, the most free throws made in a single game this season.
• The Bisons dominated the painted area, outscoring the Ospreys 42-26.

UP NEXT: 

Lipscomb will have a week break of games before hosting Austin Peay on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CT, with the matchup streaming on ESPN+. Continue to check lipscombsports.com and the team's social media accounts (@lipscombwbb on IG and @lipscomb_wbb on X) for the most up-to-date information on Lipscomb women's basketball.