NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Senior Makayla Blake (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie Central) hit two free throws with 2.9 seconds left to erase a one-point deficit, and the Saint Michael's College women's basketball team defeated nationally-regarded Southern Connecticut State University, 80-79, in double overtime on Saturday in the James Moore Field House in Northeast-10 Conference play.

The Purple Knights won their fourth straight game, defeating an Owls team that received votes toward this week's D2 CSC national poll and was third in the D2 CSC East Region poll.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (9-11, 6-8 NE10), Southern Connecticut State (16-5, 9-5 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Ashlee Talbot (Dracut, Mass./Dracut), 24 points (career high), 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 9-for-12 field goals, 3-for-4 three-pointers
• Senior Brianna Furch (Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood School/Cal State Fullerton), 17 points, 3 steals, 5-for-11 three-pointers
• Sophomore Jayla Tyler (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central/Saint Rose), 14 points, 12 rebounds, 5 offensive rebounds, 5-for-10 field goals
• Senior Makayla Blake (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie Central), 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4-for-4 free throws
• First-year Margaret Montplaisir (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth), 9 points, 3-for-6 three-pointers
• Sophomore Ruby Santos (New Paltz, N.Y./Kent School), 7 rebounds
• Sophomore Bella Franchi (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie Central), 3 assists

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Delaney Haines, 31 points, 5 assists, 12-for-18 field goals, 4-for-6 three-pointers
• Graduate student Katie Williamson, 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals
• Junior Rheyna Steinauer, 10 points, 4 rebounds

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights buried a school-record 14 three-pointers, having knocked down 12 four previous times.
• Saint Michael's held a 41-34 rebounding lead and outscored the Owls from three-point range, going 14-of-29 (48.3%) from deep to the hosts' 8-for-19 (42.1%) effort.
• The Purple Knights won in Moore Field House for only the third time, and for the first time since Feb. 10, 2009.
• Saint Michael's had not played a double-overtime game since an 82-78 victory against visiting Saint Thomas Aquinas College on Nov. 20, 2004.
• Saturday's game was only the fourth multi-overtime contest in program history. All four have ended in the second extra stanza, with Saint Michael's a perfect 4-0 in those games.
• The Purple Knights had played a road double-overtime game only once before Saturday, an 83-81 win at Le Moyne College on Jan. 6, 1991.

THE ACTION

• The Owls started the game on an 11-2 run led by five points from Steinauer, whose lay-in at 6:03 of the first quarter put her squad up by nine.
• Furch knocked down a three at 5:32 that started a 12-5 run for the Purple and Gold that ended with Tyler's lay-up with 35 seconds left to make the score 16-14 in favor of the Owls.
• The Owls outscored the Purple Knights 16-8 in the second quarter and held a 32-22 lead heading into the locker rooms.
• The Purple Knights began the second half with a 17-4 run, led by six points from Furch and keyed by 62.5% three-point shooting, to take a 39-36 lead at Furch's trey at 3:30 of the third period.
• The Owls went on a 7-1 run but Tyler knocked down a jumper at the buzzer of the third quarter to cut the Owls' lead down to one at 43-42.
• Haines scored four points in a 9-5 run and junior Hope Fox's free throw at 4:16 of the fourth quarter gave the hosts a 53-47 lead.
• Tyler's lay-up at 2:50 started a 12-3 run for the Purple Knights and gave the visitors a 59-56 lead on Talbot's free throws with 17 seconds remaining. Haines took a step-back three with three seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game and force overtime.
• The lead exchanged hands five times in the first overtime, and Franchi and Furch wrapped three-pointers around a pair of Fox free throws in the final 22 seconds to erase a four-point deficit for force another extra period.
• Saint Michael's led by as much as 78-74 in the final stanza on Tyler's putback at 2:36 before Haines scored the next five points. With her team trailing by a point, Blake knocked down two shots at the charity stripe with 2.9 seconds remaining to put the visitors in front. The Owls were unable to score on their final possession.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Wednesday at regionally-ranked Assumption University, 5:30 p.m.
• The Greyhounds were eighth in this week's D2 CSC East Region poll.