Purdue Northwest senior Darien Thompson wasn’t sulking after an overtime loss to the top team in NAIA Division II.
“This just gives us more determination to get in the gym for practice tomorrow to get better,” the 5-6 guard said. “We just took the No.1 team into overtime. We’re right there. Our drive should be higher than it ever was.”
Playing at home in Hammond against unbeaten and top-ranked St. Francis, PNW forced overtime but ultimately lost 78-69 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
“I know everyone in the locker room was upset that we lost,” said Thompson, who scored 24 points. “But we’re ready for our next practice. We’re ready for our next opponent and we’re ready to go into the conference tournament.”
Purdue Northwest (20-7, 15-3) didn’t own a lead over St. Francis (25-0, 18-0) from the 6:03 mark of the first quarter until the 4:14 mark of overtime and trailed by as many as 11 points. With 5:19 to go in the fourth, it was an eight-point deficit for the Pride, but in the final 30 seconds they cut that deficit to two points and owned possession out of a timeout.
From there, the game plan was simple: get the ball to senior guard Cassidy Deno.
“We were just trying to get the ball to her inside and she delivered,” Pride coach Tom Megyesi said.
Deno missed her initial shot, got the rebound and scored to tie the game at 63. St. Francis failed to score on its next possession to send the game into overtime, and Purdue Northwest grabbed the early advantage on a 3-pointer from Deno.
But the Saints’ Kamari Jordan scored five unanswered points a minute later. That was part of a 3:31 stretch of play when the Pride were outscored 11-1, allowing the Saints to pull away for the victory.
“They hit some big shots,” Thompson said. “Especially Jordan, when she drained that three. She’s automatic from 3-point range. We just weren’t able to get on our own run.”
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The Pride shot just 22 percent (2-for-9) from the floor in overtime, but Megyesi had no issues with his team’s competitive spirit.
“They played some great defense and shut us down,” Megyesi said. “Our kids left it all on the floor. I’m very proud of their effort and their intensity and the desire they played with. It just didn’t bounce their way in OT.”
Deno finished with a double-double, scoring a game-high 28 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Similar to Thompson, Deno was encouraged by her team’s performance.
“It was right there for us to take,” she said. “I give them a lot of credit. But it shows us a lot. We competed with the No. 1 team in the nation and we took them into overtime. Now we know what we’re capable of.”
Dave Melton is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.