EMORY, Va. — Junior shooting guard Samm Chandler notched 27 points and a career-high 17 rebounds as the Averett University women's basketball team clinched its season opener in a 97-90 overtime victory over Emory & Henry College in non-conference action on Tuesday night at the King Center.
 
With 50 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, senior center Jonna Koski scored a lay-up off her offensive rebound.  Sophomore point guard Alixis Roccia followed up with two made free throws 19 seconds later to put the Cougars up 78-74, but in a bizarre sequence, Emory & Henry's Tessa Johnston nailed a 3-pointer despite an Averett foul and added a free throw to tie the game and send it to overtime.
 
Chandler connected on an and-1 to give Averett (1-0) a six-point cushion as the Cougars led 87-81 with 2:55 to go, and the Cougars continued to build on their lead, capitalizing on free throws.
 
Emory (0-1) claimed the largest lead of the game early on midway through the first quarter, but after that first period, neither team led by more than six points up until Averett moved ahead 89-82 on another lay-in from Chandler with just 2:30 to go in overtime.   
 
Freshman guard Brooke Carthon put up big numbers in her collegiate debut for Averett, finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds.
 
Chandler added six steals to her double-double while junior guards Frida Lundquist and Joelle Deese each ended the night with double digits. Deese finished with 14 points as Lundquist followed with 13. Nine of Lundquist's points came from the charity stripe.
 
Averett returns to action this weekend when it travels to Fredericksburg, Virginia, to play in the University of Mary Washington/Hyatt Place Tipoff Tournament. The Cougars will face Virginia Wesleyan College on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 5 p.m. on the first day of the tournament.