Brooks takes charge in overtime; Little Rock ends regular season winning OT thriller

In a game that saw 15 ties and 19 lead changes, it was the Little Rock women's basketball team that got the last lead of the day, beating Tennessee Tech 72-69 in overtime Saturday to clinch the No. 2 seed in next week's OVC Championships.
 
Little Rock (12-17 overall, 11-7 OVC) went into the overtime period facing the prospect of falling into the No. 6 seed, but instead, senior Jayla Brooks scored seven of her 17 points in the extra period to give the home crowd something to remember in her final appearance at the Jack Stephens Center. Now, the Trojans will take advantage of the double bye granted to the top two seeds and get a free ride into the semifinal round Friday in Evansville, Ind.
 
Brooks played all 45 minutes, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals as the Trojans were once again without two starters due to illness. Faith Lee had a team-high 20 points, Jordan Holman added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Sug Williams came up big with a season-high 14 points and seven boards.
 
Neither team led by more than five at any point, as the Trojans held the advantage on the glass (37-31), in the paint (32-24) and in transition (16-4). Little Rock shot 45.3 percent from the floor (24-of-53) and 70 percent from the free throw line as the Trojans used an aggressive attack to get to the foul line 30 times.
 
Reagan Hurst led Tennessee Tech (15-14, 10-8) with a career-high 22 points, including 5-of-8 shooting from behind the arc. Preseason OVC Player of the Year Maaliya Owens added 14 points but made just 5-of-16 shots and Reghan Grimes chipped in 11 for the Golden Eagles, who will be the No. 6 seed in Evansville.
 
With the game tied at 63-63, Brooks turned it on in overtime, converting three free throws to give Little Rock a 66-63 lead, then a layup with 3:10 to play to go ahead 68-65. With the lead down to one, Brooks came through again, slicing through the Tennessee Tech defense for a layup with 29 seconds remaining – the final points for either team. Owens and Grimes would each have a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but both shots fell short.
 
Little Rock will play in the semifinal round of the OVC Championships on Friday at 3:30 pm. The opponent is TBD. All games at the tournament can be streamed on ESPN+.
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