With 00:01 on the game clock Thursday night, Incarnate Word guard Katy Cooke stood at the free throw line with the Texas A&M-Commerce scoreboard reading 65-65 and the game on the line.
Unfortunately for the Lions, Cooke is UIW's leading scorer and leading free throw shooter at 80 percent – so it came as no surprise that she sunk both free throws and, in the process, sunk the home team's chance to win as the Cardinals won their fourth straight, 67-65.
The contest had seven tie scores and five lead-changes, but UIW fended off a late comeback attempt by Commerce to improve their record to 4-7 overall.
Cooke's free throws (she was 5-of-5 on the night) gave her 15 total points to go with her five rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes-played. That effort, however, was only second-best for UIW on the night, as freshman center Rose Whitehead scored 19 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
Also scoring in double-figures for Incarnate Word was Taylor Murray with 11 points.
The Cardinals battled under the boards with TAMU-Commerce to even the stat sheet on the total-rebounds column at 31 boards for each team. In addition, the UIW bench scored 33 points to 0 for the Commerce bench.
UIW will face Texas Women's University on Saturday in Denton in another Lone Star Conference North-vs-South Crossover game.
