Saints Keep Fans on the Edge of Their Seats

(Right) Center Grace Merrill grabbed 18 rebounds against the Roadrunners. (Left) Guard Autumn Baumgartner led the Saints scoring with 21 points. Photos by Kane Finders

The Mt. Hood women’s basketball team hosted a barn-burner of a game against Linn-Benton Community College’s Roadrunners on Jan. 29, eventually losing 66-55 in double overtime.

Although the Saints did end up losing, the performance of the players was still very good. The first point was scored by Saints guard Autumn Baumgartner, who stood out by scoring 21 points for the game and had possession for much of the contest. The Saints took a seven-point lead into the second quarter of the game, and still led, 24-23, at halftime.

After a tight third quarter, Mt. Hood was able to push its lead up to eight points a few times in the fourth quarter, but the Roadrunners made a late comeback to force overtime, at 47-47.

The first overtime stayed extremely close, with no more than two points separating the two sides, and ended 53-53. Finally, Linn-Benton was able to push the game open, outscoring the Saints 13-2 in the second OT period for the win.

The tough loss came during an eight-game losing streak for Mt. Hood. Happily, the Saints broke through Feb. 5 with a 62-60 home win over Clark College.