Chi Omega Pi defeated Zeta Rho 38-32 Tuesday, Dec. 1 in the women’s large club A team basketball championship game. Senior Libby Witte led Chi Omega Phi in scoring with 11 points, with sophomores Haley Shearer and Mallory Williams each adding 9. Zeta Rho was led by sophomore Shelby Gowen, who scored 11 points, while sophomore Julianne Peters contributed another 9.
After winning the tipoff, Chi Omega Pi got on the board first as junior Shelby Cothran scored from the paint. The teams exchanged buckets before Zeta Rho went on a 10-0 run to build an 11-4 lead, with 4 points coming from free throws. Gowen and Peters each scored 4 of the 10 points. Chi Omega Pi halted Zeta Rho’s momentum with a time-out and a two-pointer. After Zeta Rho responded with a three-pointer from Peters, Witte made three consecutive shots to lead Chi Omega Phi on a 9-0 run capped by a three-pointer from Williams to give the team a 15-14 lead. After a Zeta Rho time-out, each team made a trip to the foul line as the first half finished with Chi Omega Pi leading 17-15.
Chi Omega Pi sophomore Amy Hatfield opened the second-half scoring with a three-pointer after going scoreless in the first half, and Williams followed with a jump shot to build their lead to 22-15. Zeta Rho responded with consecutive three-pointers from senior Donisha Webb and Gowen to bring the gap to 22-21, but Chi Omega Pi completed a 7-0 run capped by a three-point play from Witte to extend the lead to 29-21. The teams went back and forth until Zeta Rho called a time-out around the 7-minute mark, with Chi Omega Pi leading 34-26. Zeta Rho battled to stay in the game, cutting the lead to 35-30 before Chi Omega Pi called a time-out with just over a minute left in the game. After a successful jump shot from Zeta Rho’s Gowen, Chi Omega Pi scored 3 points off of intentional fouls to end the game with a 38-32 victory.
