Voorhees College guard Ladazha Cole hit a three-pointer with 0.1 seconds left to stun Stillman College women’s basketball team, 53-51, in Birthright Alumni Hall on Monday night.
The shot was Cole’s third three-pointer of the game, and her first make since the first quarter. On a night where both teams struggled to make anything, Cole found her shot at the right time.
The loss put Stillman at 12-9 for the year, and ended the team’s seven-game winning streak.
“We didn’t have a sense of urgency,” Stillman coach Alico Dunk said. “I think sometimes when you start winning, you get a little complacent.”
Cole’s game-winning shot was set up after her teammate, guard Ca'Washa Ceasar, tied the game up at 50 with 27 seconds left. Stillman guard Ki’Onna Likely put Stillman up by one with 13 seconds left, but Voorhees ultimately hit the biggest shot of the night.
Dunk said he isn’t going to let this loss set his team back after the improvement he has seen in the last month.
“You have to have thick skin,” Dunk said. “You have to have a short-term memory as well. It happened. You know what it feels like, and you don’t want to have that feeling.”
Stillman’s struggles from the field were a big reason why the winning streak came to end. The Lady Tigers made only 17 of 58 shots (29 percent) overall and went 2-of-18 from beyond the arc.
Since Voorhees was mostly playing zone defense, the lack of an outside shot hurt Stillman throughout the game.
“We weren’t ready to shoot the ball,” Dunk said. “That’s what that zone does. It slows you down and makes you stagnant.”
While the loss stings, Stillman got standout performances from Likely and forward O’Neisha Hunt. Hunt tied her season high with 14 points.
Likely secured her second-straight double-double with 19 points and a career-high 23 rebounds. She was a force on the backboard early, grabbing 16 rebounds in the first half.
Next, Stillman will travel to play Morris College on Wednesday, and will rematch Voorhees on Thursday on the road.