WENHAM, Mass.— Curry's Emily Irwin (Billerica, Mass.) scored a career-best 36 points to help the Colonels eke out a 58-55 win over Gordon in overtime. The sophomore guard tied the Curry College women's basketball program single-game scoring record with the 36 points and tied the single-game mark with 16 made free throws. The Colonels evened the season series and more importantly took a game lead on the Fighting Scots in the Commonwealth Coast Conference standings.

The Colonels were all systems go in the first quarter, breaking open an 8-7 game with a 12-0 in a three-minute stretch. Irwin was a major reason why the Curry offense clicked in the period, often turning second-chance opportunities into points. Gordon's Meghan Foley (Malden, Mass.) did her best to keep the Scots from getting too far away, cutting the game to 20-12 after the first period.

Foley and classmate Sarah Gibbs (Elizabethtown, Pa.) continued the run well into the second quarter before evening the score at 20 when Gibbs put home a nice entry pass from Olivia Stark (Arvada, Colo.).

Curry quickly undid the Gordon run with seven consecutive points of their own, but Gordon bounced back again and trailed 27-25 at halftime. Irwin scored 18 points in the first half.

Gordon was unable to slow Irwin down in the second half either, but never waved in the attempt at a comeback. The Fighting Scots tied the game at 31 each before Curry's Nicole Rice (Woburn, Mass.) hit a deep three to the Colonels on their way to a 42-37 edge entering the home stretch.

Curry pushed its lead even further to eight points before the Fighting Scots responded with another big run. Gordon held the Colonels to only three points for the final nine minutes of regulation and did just enough to knot the game at 48 before the regulation buzzer. The Scots had a chance to win the game in regulation, but could not convert off an inbounds play.

Brooke Dyson (Houston, Texas) gave Gordon its first lead since 2-0 with a fastbreak layup at the start of the overtime period, but Irwin went on a 6-0 run by her lonesome to get it right back. The Curry sophomore scored all 10 of Curry's points in the OT period, eight of which came from the charity stripe.

Three Gordon long balls went in and out, ultimately providing the difference in the final score at 58-55.

Aside from Irwin's crazy game, Rice provided the best amount of support with seven points and 15 rebounds. She also deflected six Gordon shots. Irwin finished with a game-high seven steals.

Gordon's shooting woes continued a bit with a mark under 30 percent as a team. Foley was one of the bright spots with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Gibbs wrangled in 13 rebounds and stole the ball five times. Alisha Henderson (Oregon City, Ore.) had 11 off the bench.

Gordon (7-13, 5-8 CCC) follows this up with a home game against Endicott on Saturday at 1 p.m. Curry (8-12, 6-7 CCC) heads home to take on Nichols at the same time.

(Game Recap Courtesy of Gordon College Sports Information)