HENNIKER, N.H.-The New England College women's basketball team held on for a thrilling 79-77 overtime win over the Chargers of Colby-Sawyer College on Saturday afternoon in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) action.

The win boosts NEC to 7-7 overall and 4-5 in the NAC, while Colby-Sawyer falls to 12-4 overall and 7-2 in league play. The Chargers see their seven-game winning streak come to an end with the loss.

NEC LEADERS
Sophomore Rene Hudson (Gallatin, Tenn.) became the second player in NCAA Division III to hit 10 three-pointers in a game this season en route to a 43-point performance. Hudson shot 15-for-35 from the floor, 10-18 from three-point range, and 3-for-6 from the free-throw line. 43 points is the third-highest single-game total in Division III this season.

Freshman Anoushka Boatswain (East Orange, N.J.) scored 13 points along with 16 rebounds for her first career double-double. Classmate Ashley Lopez (San Antonio, Texas) chipped in with 10 points.

COLBY-SAWYER LEADERS
The Chargers received 30 points from sophomore Lexie Hamilton, 12 of which she scored at the free-throw line. Tianna Sugars chipped in with 19 points, followed by Emmani Robinson with 15 points off the bench.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pilgrims took an early lead, using a 24-17 first quarter to their advantage. The Pilgrims' largest lead of the game was 11 points, hit with 1:01 left in the first quarter on a jumper by Hudson.

The Chargers started building their comeback in the second quarter as they held their hosts to just 10 points in the frame while scoring 14 of their own to cut their deficit to three points at half, 34-31.

The Pilgrims shot 43.5 percent in the first quarter but saw their effectiveness drop to 21.4 percent in the second quarter. The Chargers remained consistent, shooting 36.8 percent in the first quarter and 35.7 percent in the second.

Colby-Sawyer scored the first five points of the second half to take the lead and opened up a 12-point lead in the third quarter, but the Pilgrims ended the quarter with a 9-0 run to trail by just three entering the final quarter of regulation.

NEC tied it at 52-52 in the first minute of the fourth quarter on Hudson's 10^th three-pointer of the game, but the frame would prove to be a back-and-forth affair as neither team led by more than four points throughout the whole quarter.

An old-fashioned three-point play by Hudson put NEC on top 66-63 with 2:50 left to play. The Chargers had an answer for every NEC go-ahead, and the two teams were tied 68-68 with 1:05 on the clock. The Pilgrims sent Alli Barrett to the line for two good free-throws with 17 seconds on the clock to tie it again at 70-70, but Hudson hit a jumper with one second on the clock to put NEC up 72-70.

Unfortunately for the Pilgrims, a premature celebration by the crowd resulted in a team technical foul, allowing the Chargers to force overtime with a pair of made free-throws by Sugars.

Overtime saw three lead changes and two tied scores. The score was knotted at 75-75 for over two minutes in the five-minute overtime period until Hudson hit a pair of free-throws for a two-point advantage with 17 seconds to play. The Chargers answered with a layup by Robinson to tie it at 77-77, but Hudson proved her dominance one last time by dribbling through traffic and working in a layup with two seconds on the clock.

NEC finished the game shooting 38.0 percent from the floor, while Colby-Sawyer finished at 36.2 percent. NEC held scoring advantages in points off turnovers (16-13), second-chance points (18-15) and fast-break points (11-4), while Colby-Sawyer led in points scored in the paint (34-30).

WHAT'S NEXT
The Pilgrims have a quick turnaround, as they host Bay Path College in non-conference action on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.