Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 EPHRAIM – The Snow College Lady Badgers earned road wins at USU-Eastern, 80-79 in overtime, and over Colorado Northwestern, 70-56, last weekend to maintain their hold on second place as the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC) now heads into its last two weeks of the regular season. Snow is 8-4 in Scenic West play, a half-game ahead of Southern Idaho and three games behind Salt Lake.

On Thursday at USU-Eastern in Price, the Eagles took a 48-33 halftime lead shooting 49 percent from the floor in the first half including nine 3-pointers. But the second half was a different story as the Eagles went cold and could only manage 21 percent from the floor and made only two of 17 shots they hoisted from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Badgers outworked the Eagles in the second period, pulling down 25 rebounds in the half, eight more than their hosts.

Snow led by five heading into the final minute of regulation, but a pair of free throws by Eastern's Maddy Murphy and a 3-pointer by Jamie Smith tied the score at 69 with 28 seconds remaining. "Smith hit her three after a missed rebound on our part and they kicked it to her," said Snow head coach Natalie Visger. Snow had a chance to go back up by five with 39 second remaining, but missed two free throws leading to Eastern's five-point run. 

Snow's Maddi Smith nailed a three with eight seconds left to put the Badgers back on top, but Eastern's Barbara Cousino sent the game into overtime tied at 72 with a three of her own at the buzzer. Visger tried to call a time out to instruct her team to foul rather than letting the Eagles get off a three to tie, but "It was so loud in there," said Visger. "It was a packed a house, with a rowdy student crowd."

In the overtime, a pair of buckets by Whitney Saunders and a jumper by Kaitlyn Hurley put the Badgers ahead in the first two minutes. Eastern battled back and took the lead by a point with a minute left, 79-78, when Jamie Smith made a free throw. Following a missed jumper by Snow, Eastern turned the ball over on a failed lob into the paint and Saunders hit a jumper to put the Badgers up by one with two seconds left. "Neither team had timeouts at this point," Visger said, "And I was proud of our composure during that last possession."

Eastern's Bryanna Adams still had time to get off a 3-point shot, but she was four feet beyond the arc with two Badgers in her face, and she just caught the left side of the rim to give the Badgers the win.

Maddi Smith had a game-high 23 points for the Badgers and Hurley finished with 19 points and dished out nine assists. Saunders finished with 22 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Cousino led Eastern with 18 points. 

"Whitney (Saunders), Kait (Hurley) and Maddi (Smith) were the difference as well as some solid play down the stretch by Abbie (Barnard)," said Visger. "I was proud of the way we battled back and were able to keep our composure in the overtime and finish the game." Barnard pulled down four crucial defensive rebounds and hit two timely buckets as the Badgers battled back from down seven points midway through the second half.

On Saturday, Snow started slowly in Rangely, Colo., against CNCC, but still led 32-27 at the break. "It was a rough start," Visger said. "CNCC came out with more energy and some hot shooting. After the first five minutes we settled in and found a groove."

The Badgers were too much in the second half as they slowly pulled away for the 70-56 win. The Badgers shot 50 percent in the game from the floor (27 for 54) while holding the Spartans to 39 percent (20 for 51), and pulled down ten more rebounds, 38 to 28. 

Snow's Jilian Powell led all scorers with 20 points while Mattie Evensen added 12 points, Maddi Smith scored 11 and Ashton Henderson had 10. Saunders led the Badgers with nine rebounds and scored six points. Jamie Revels led CNCC with 17 points.  

"Jil (Powell) played a fantastic game and was aggressive on both offense and defense," Visger said. "We need to figure out how to have a better start, and we are working on that." The coach said her team responds well when they make in-game adjustments, but "now we need to figure out how to get them going from tip-off."

The Badgers next play on Saturday when they visit first place Salt Lake. Southern Idaho this week hosts CNCC and USU-Eastern. Next week the Badgers, 20-5 overall, host 4-7 North Idaho on Thursday while Southern Idaho plays at 11-1 Salt Lake. The Badgers, 8-4 in league play, and 7-4 Southern Idaho then close out the regular season with a matchup in Ephraim on Saturday, Feb. 21. Finishing first or second in the SWAC regular season earns a team a bye in the first round of the conference tournament to be played Feb. 26 through 28 in Price.