Matt Packwood, Brandon University Athletics

BRANDON, Man. – The Brandon Bobcats outlasted the Mount Royal Cougars 92-82 in a game that had little on the line, but delivered in a big way in terms of entertainment.

Despite both teams having been previously eliminated from the playoffs, both put on an action-packed game that Brandon snuck out after forcing overtime in the dying seconds of regulation.

Logan Biccum hit a base-line lay-up with 5.9 seconds left to tie it at 79-79 and force overtime.

After the game Biccum admitted it was the biggest shot she's ever hit.

"He (coach Novell Thomas) just said to look to create so that's what I did and it kind of worked out in my favour. I was able to get that lay-up but Mount Royal definitely pushed us that whole game. It was a battle," said Biccum.

Despite the finish the contest started out very much in Mount Royal's favour.

The largest lead of the first half was in the first three minutes, after that the teams turned it into a track meet.

The Cougars enjoyed a good start running to an early 13-2 lead before Adrianna Proulx hit back-to-back three's near the mid-point of the first quarter to put a stop to the Bobcats' bleeding.

Melanie Garner answered back with a pair of triples to extend the Cougars' lead to 21-9. From there it turned into a slugfest.

Mount Royal hit 10 triples in the first half alone but the Bobcats would not go away, almost taking a lead into the half time break if not for Michelle Tiffany's trey in the dying seconds of the first half to make it 43-43 at the break.

The second half saw the teams trade leads before Biccum's make to force the extra frame.

The hot shooting that lifted Mount Royal early was nowhere to be found in overtime as the Cougars went ice cold late, shooting 0-for-6 from beyond the arc.

Tiffany attributed her team's difficulty in overtime to foul trouble.

"The difference was I'd definitely say fouls. We were a little handsy, but in the game of basketball it's hard to not be super anxious with that."

Brandon was led by Lauren Anderson's 26 points and 13 rebounds while Proulx also finished with a double-double (20 points, 15 rebs). Rookie Laney Harder continued to impress pulling down 14 boards to go with eight points.

Four Cougars finished in double figures led by Tiffany's team-high 18 points. Charity Marlatt had 16 points while Marnie Garner had 12 points and Alesha Stnaley had 10.

The two teams meet again in the rematch that will also be the final game of the season for both teams with tip-off coming at 5 p.m. CST.

Photo courtesy Milana Paddock