NASHVILLE – The Trevecca Nazarene University women's basketball team (3-6, 0-1 Great Midwest) dropped its Great Midwest Athletic Conference opener in overtime 84-77, to Tiffin University (5-5, 1-0 Great Midwest) in Trojan Fieldhouse on Thursday.

SERIES HISTORY/NOTES

Tiffin joined the G-MAC prior to the 2018-19 season dropping both it's home and away games to the Trojans last season. Tiffin won the only meeting this season.

Olivia Pepperman (JR/Maryville, TN) reached double figures for the eighth time this season, finishing with a team-high 19 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Tiffin's offense was on fire early jumping out to a quick 9-0 lead before Olivia Pepperman scored four minutes into the game. The Trojans countered with a 6-0 run of their own to fight back to trail by just one 16-15 after the first quarter. The Trojans dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Dragons by eight to take a 40-31 halftime advantage. Tiffin cut into the Trojan lead in the first five minutes of the third quarter. A jumper by Aarion Nichols with 4:22 gave the Dragons their first lead (44-43) since the first quarter. The teams traded leads for the final four minutes of the third. When Annaliese Burnett (SO/Arlington, TN) hit a corner 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the quarter, Trevecca took a 57-54 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Trojans lead slowly dwindled until Nichols gave the Dragons the lead when she made all three free-throw attempts. Three points from Kaitlynn Wilks (FR/Stanford, KY) put the Trojans on top with 42 seconds to play. Nichols once again was successful from the foul line to tie the game at 71-71, forcing overtime. Tiffin outscored the Trojans by seven in the extra frame to claim an 84-77 win.

TEAM STATS BREAKDOWN

Trevecca shot 41% (32-78) from the field and was 5-25 (20%) from 3-point range. The Dragons collected nearly 20 more rebounds than the Trojans, 57-36 though the Trojans led in assists 14-8, blocks 6-2 and steals 11-3.

PLAYER STATS REPORT

Four the Trojans starters reached double-figures as Olivia Pepperman led the way with 19 points, just missing a double-double with nine assists, six steals, and five rebounds. Kaitlyn Wilks added 15 and five while Annaliese Burnett helped with 14 and five. Samantha Whiteman (FR/Covington, OH) finished with 12 and three rebounds, with two assists.

WHAT'S NEXT    

The Trojans host Ohio Dominican (4-4, 0-1 Great Midwest) on Saturday at 2 PM. The Panthers are coming off an 83-63 defeat to Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday.

The Trojans and Panthers will meet for the regular-season finale February 29 in Columbus. Trevecca is looking for its first victory over Ohio Dominican in the fifth all-time meeting Saturday.

MORE ABOUT THE TREVECCA TROJANS

Visit Official Home of Trevecca Athletics at www.tnutrojans.com

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