BUFFALO, N.Y. – Sometimes all it takes to jump start a basketball team is a lucky bounce, or in this case, an improbable swish.
Junior Grace Dow sank an improbable 50-foot hook shot as time expired to give the Roberts Wesleyan University women's basketball team a three-point halftime lead and lift the Redhawks to a 59-45 win over D'Youville in an East Coast Conference game on Wednesday.
"Momentum is big in basketball and that shot gave us some momentum," Roberts coach Kevin Clifford said. "Anytime you get a shot like that at the end of the half or a quarter it gives you a boost and I thought that we fed off of that."
It was only the second made three-pointer for Dow at Roberts and it came after Georgia Haverlock passed Dow the ball just shy of half-court after a made free throw by D'Youville with .7 left on the second-quarter clock.
While the buzzer-beater inspired Roberts (7-16, 3-12 ECC), it was a big third-quarter run that put the Redhawks in charge. D'Youville scored two quick baskets coming out of the half, but Roberts scored the next 13 points.
Senior guard Danielle DiCintio, who made 7 of 10 shots from three-point range, scored six points in the spurt while Marianna Freeman added four and Georgia Haverlock contributed three. DiCintio led Roberts with 21 points while Freeman and Haverlock both finished with 14.
"Dani shot lights out and I thought that we had good balance," Clifford said. "I think we controlled the tempo and did some nice things defensively."
Dow led Roberts with nine rebounds while DiCintio added four assists and three steals. Haverlock contributed five rebounds and three steals.
The Redhawks close out their regular season against Daemen in the Voller Athletic Center. First tip on Senior Day is scheduled for 2 p.m.