Macey Fegan made a pair of clutch free throws in overtime to give Cleveland State an 81-80 overtime win over Oakland in the Horizon League Tournament.
CLEVELAND — Izabella Zingaro finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds and Macey Fegan nailed a pair of clutch free throws with less than a second to go as Cleveland State rallied for an 81-80 overtime win over Oakland in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament Wednesday night at the Wolstein Center.
Trailing by one after coughing up a seven-point lead, the third-seeded Vikings missed a pair of layups before Fegan got the offensive board and was fouled by Jasmin Dupree-Herbert on the putback attempt. The junior from Beltley, Michigan, then calmly sank both foul shots with just 0.5 left on the clock, and the Golden Grizzlies were unable to execute another play as time ran out.
Fegan finished the evening with 11 points and seven rebounds as CSU (24-8) won its seventh straight. The Vikes will face 2-seed Youngstown State Monday afternoon in the conference semifinals.
For eighth-seeded Oakland (10-21), the star of the show was freshman Makenzie Luehring, who dominated with a remarkable 39 points along with five boards. The underdog Grizzlies actually led most of the night, racing ahead by as many as 13 in the first quarter before pulling back on top by four with only minutes to play.
Cleveland State managed to close the gap to 71-70, but the team’s hopes appeared dashed when Colbi Maples missed a step-back jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining in regulation. Karinna Trotter was subsequently fouled and went to the free-throw line for Oakland, but split the pair, and the Vikings were able to advance the ball by calling a timeout down by two.
On the second inbound attempt, Zingaro was fouled by Trotter, and the league’s Newcomer of the Year came up big by hitting both her free throws to extend the game by five minutes. CSU scored the first seven points in OT before the Grizzlies scored the next eight, taking the lead on a Luehring lay-in that preceded both teams trading misses — setting the stage for Fegan’s late-game heroics.
This will mark Cleveland State’s seventh consecutive trip to the Horizon League semis. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Monday at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis.