Box Score PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- For the second straight season the Lindsey Wilson College women's basketball team must settle for runner-up in the Mid-South Conference Tournament.
The top-seeded Blue Raiders (21-11) struggled on the offensive end and loss to Georgetown (Ky.) College 78-73 on Monday in the tournament finals at the Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center.
Despite the loss, No. 23-ranked Lindsey Wilson advances to the NAIA National Tournament next week in Jackson, Tenn. The national tournament bracket with the Blue Raiders' opponent and game time will be announced later this week.
Georgetown junior guard Katie Filiatreau's three-pointer at the first half buzzer gave the Lady Tigers a 45-43 lead and the momentum heading into the locker room.
The Lady Tigers (23-9) used the momentum to stretch their lead to as many as 11 points on three different occasions in the second half before a Lindsey Wilson comeback.
The Blue Raiders despite shooting just 38.8 percent (26-of-67) from the field -- cut the Georgetown lead to three (65-62) with 4:44 remaining.
Georgetown answered with an 8-0 run to regain the 11-point advantage heading into the final three minutes.
The Blue Raiders countered with another run, scoring nine of the next 10 points to climb within 74-71 with 41.1 seconds left.
Following a pair of free throws by Lady Tiger junior Ashley Bell, Lindsey Wilson freshman Viktoria Krell cut the lead back to three (76-73) on an put-back with 30.4 seconds left.
With 16.1 seconds remaining, Filiatreau missed the front end of a bonus.
But Bell snuck in to steal the rebound against the second best team in the NAIA in rebounding differential and was immediately fouled.
Bell's two free throws clinched the title for the Lady Tigers.
In the first half, Lindsey Wilson senior Terran Duncan kept the Blue Raiders in the game scoring 26 of her career-high 33 points before the break. Duncan finished making 13-of-17 shots for the game and recorded her first double-double of the season while pulling down 12 rebounds.
Lindsey Wilson led by as many as seven points before foul trouble sent Krell, senior guard Krystal Jackson and senior forward Moneta Anderson to the bench with three fouls each.
The two teams produced seven ties and lead eight lead changes in the first 20 minutes. The final lead change came on Filiatreau's three.
Krell finished with 11 points.
Georgetown senior center Amy Schiller led the Tigers with 18 points. Sophomore Jayme Gilbert added 15 and Filiatreau chipped in 12.