CCU Clawed their way back into the game on Friday night, and defeated Cameron University in overtime by a final score of 81-78. The game was played in Canyon, TX on the campus of West Texas A&M University, who are hosting the 2016 PAK-A-SAK Thanksgiving Classic which CCU is competing in. It was a close game throughout, but the Cougs made key shots late, which ultimately gave them the victory.
 
After spotting Cameron a six point lead to open up the game, the Cougars got things going, and quickly battled their way back into the game. By the end of the first quarter, CCU had trimmed the Aggies lead down to just two, as they trailed 12-14.
 
Kaitlyn Hinch opened the second quarter by draining a three pointer, which gave the Cougs their first lead of the game at 15-14. The rest of the second quarter was a back and forth battle, in which neither team was able to seize control of the momentum. At halftime, Cameron had re-taken the lead as they held a slim 33-30 advantage heading into the break.
 
Head coach Corey Laster made some halftime adjustments, and those changes paid off in the third quarter as CCU was able to eliminate the deficit and tie up the game 49-49 heading into the final period.
 
The two teams matched each other during the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, as the lead never got above two points for either side. The Aggies seized momentum and strung together a few baskets late in the fourth, and with two minutes remaining in the game the Cougs were looking at their largest deficit of the game as they trailed by seven, 60-67. Christian refused to give up, and thanks to back to back jumpers from Claire Paxton, the deficit was trimmed to three points with one minute left in the game. The Aggies ran some clock on their next possession, and as the shot clock was running down, they hit a layup to push the lead back to five with just under 30 seconds left. From that point, Kaitlyn Hinch took put the team on her back. Hinch nailed a three pointer to trim the lead to two, then after two missed free throws by Cameron, she hit a layup with three seconds left to tie up the game and send it into overtime.
 
Leisha Crawford came up huge for CCU in overtime, as she scored six points. Kaitlyn Hinch was clutch as well as her three pointer with just under three minutes left, gave the Cougars their largest lead of the game 76-71. Cameron attempted a comeback, but Alex Nelson and Sarah Holt hit free throws in the final seconds of the game to seal the victory by a final score of 81-78.
 
Five players finished the game in double figures led by Kaitlyn Hinch who had a game high 18 points. Both Claire Paxton and Alex Nelson finished the game just one rebound shy of a double-double as Paxton had 16 points and nine rebounds, while Nelson had 15 points and nine rebounds. Leisha Crawford had 13 points, and was clutch at the free throw line especially late, as she hit all seven shots from the charity stripe. Redshirt freshman Sarah Holt rounds out the Cougars in double figures, as she finished with 10 points on the night.
 
As a team, the stingy Christian defense is a major reason why they got the victory in the game. They forced 18 turnovers in the game, led by Alex Nelson and Leisha Crawford who were both credited with four steals. The Cougs were able to capitalize on those 18 turnovers, as they turned them into 23 points.
 
With the win, the Cougars record is now back to .500 at 2-2. They will be back in action on Saturday night as they will face off against third ranked West Texas A&M University. Tip is scheduled for 4PM MST.