Box Score
A halfcourt prayer from sophomore forward Kaci Willis came up just short of giving the Louisiana College Lady Wildcats their first NCAA Tournament win since the 2011 season.
 
How the Lady Wildcats got to that point, in a game that ended with a heart pounding 59-58 final score in favor of host team Rhodes College, was a much more complex story.
 
After a first half where LC went 7-33 from the field and scored only 22 points, 18 of which came from Natosha Gottlieb, the Jason Tinsley's club found themselves in a 34-22 hole.
 
“That first half was like a train wreck,” said Tinsley, “It was reminiscent of the ETBU game. We came in leading the nation in steals and only had one at the half.”
 
“Nobody panicked in the locker room at halftime,” said senior point guard Shaina Howard, “we just knew we had to come out and play better.”
 
The first 10 minutes of the second half looked like more of the same for Rhodes College.
 
The Lynx stormed out of the locker room to take a 49-33 lead at the 12:05 mark of the second half.
 
The eight minutes that followed defined a season for the Lady Wildcats.
 
LC would make a 25-3 run over that stretch to take a 58-52 lead at the 3:58 mark, which started with a Kala Chenier three-pointer from the corner.
 
Chenier and Neka Jones would both hit a pair of three-pointers each in that stretch.
 
“I loved our effort that last 10 minutes,” said Tinsley, “I told them we were going to start subbing five in and five out, trap them defensively, and try to wear them out.”
 
The Lynx would crawl back in it, and a Lauren Avant jumper with 1:58 remaining tied the game at 58 and seemed to give Rhodes the momentum back in front a large, and extremely boisterous, home crowd. Sarah Johnson followed that with what appeared to be a go-ahead jumper at the 1:08 mark.
 
However, an offensive foul was called and the basket waved off, giving LC a chance to take the lead. That set up the most controversial call moment of the game and one not soon to be forgotten anytime soon.
 
As Lauren Avant went up for another potential go-ahead shot, she was whistled for a charge, which would have given the ball back to the Lady Wildcats. But a conference between officials reversed the call, and it was instead called a block on Willis in the act of shooting, giving Rhodes two free throw shots instead of the 1-and-1 situation most assumed.
 
Avant hit the backend of the two free throws to give Rhodes a 59-58 lead.
 
“I actually thought the officiating was great tonight,” said Tinsley, “but in this situation, in the NCAA tournament, I feel like there needs to be a game monitor at the scorer's table to look at things like this so there isn't a subjective judgement of what happened. It just wasn't our turn, it wasn't meant to be.”
 
Gottlieb then missed two opportunities to give LC the lead on the other end, and Sarah Johnson rebound followed by a timeout seemed to wrap the game up for the home standing Lynx.
 
The Lady Wildcats had one more chance to win it, as Kaci Willis stole the inbounds pass off the timeout at halfcourt and threw up a prayer that came up just inches short.
 
The loss ended the season for the Lady Wildcats, as well the legendary career of senior forward Natosha Gottlieb, who finished the game with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.
 
Gottlieb, along with fellow senior and All-ASC Shaina Howard, received an ovation from the multiple LC fans that stayed after the game despite the loss as the two emerged from the locker room.
 
A fitting end to two careers that will live on long after the duo walked off the court following Friday night's instant classic.