FERRUM, Va. — Averett University women's basketball's season came to heartbreaking end with a 61-59 loss to Ferrum College in Saturday's USA South Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Tied 59-59, Averett (18-9) had possession with 2.7 seconds to play. The Cougars missed a shot but got possession back thanks to the arrow after the rebound was tied up. The inbounds pass, however, was errant and went out of bounds, giving the ball back to Ferrum (17-9) with a chance to win.

The Panthers capitalized. Ferrum lobbed the inbounds pass inside to Erin March, who was fouled. March hit both free throws with 1.3 seconds left to put the Panthers in front.
Averett had one last chance after a timeout that advanced the ball to midcourt, but a 3-pointer hit off the front of the rim as time experienced, helping Ferrum escape and advance to the semifinals while eliminating the Cougars.

The resilient Cougars battled back after trailing by nine with 4:46 to play. Layups by sophomores Ravyn Johnson and Brooke Carthon bookended a 3-pointer by sophomore Kiara Smith to get Averett within 58-56 with 2:24 remaining. Carthon added a free throw to cut the Panthers' lead to one on the Cougars' next possession, setting up the exciting finish.

Ferrum went back in front by two with a free throw, then senior Alixis Roccia tied it at 59-59 on a layup with 38 seconds to go. A Ferrum turnover gave the ball back to Averett for their first chance at taking the lead in the final seconds.

???????Ferrum, the No. 2 seed in the East Division and co-champion of the division, held the lead for most of the first two quarters. Averet jumped in front briefly just before the half on senior Samm Chandler's layup, but the Panthers hit two free throws for a 35-34 lead at the break.

The Panthers extended their lead to as many as eight points in the third quarter and bumped that advantage to as many as nine points before Averett made its comeback to tie the game in the final minute.

???????Carthon led Averett with 16 points, while junior Amani Ajayi had 13 points and seven rebounds. Johnson matched her career-high of 16 rebounds to go with seven points. Roccia added eight points and six rebounds.

Chandler, Averett's all-time leading scorer and shot-blocker, missed the final quarter due to injury. She finished with eight points in her final collegiate game.

The loss ended a tremendous season for the Cougars, who matched their program's single-season record with 18 overall wins and set the record with 13 conference wins.

???????Ferrum will face West Division No. 1 seed Berea College in the semifinals next Saturday.