In yet another overtime-thriller, the Stow Lady bulldogs capped off their regular season play with a come-behind victory over the Mentor Cardinals in dramatic fashion.

The Lady Bulldogs took on the Mentor Cardinals, Feb. 18 at home, after coming off a big win at Hudson the past Saturday. With three seniors eager to finish their regular season strong on senior night, and Stow’s head coach, Bob Podges absent from the game for personal reasons, it was set to be an interesting night for both players and fans.

Stow came out with their worst performance all year. Poor shot selection, turnovers and lack of defense led to the Bulldogs falling behind 20-2 at the end of the first quarter. It looked as if it could be a long night for Stow.

The second quarter brought hope back to the Bulldogs. An early three pointer by junior Colleen Taylor gave Stow their first field goal of the night. From there, Stow out scored Mentor 17-9 and went into the half down by a deficit of 19-29.

The Bulldogs continued to out score Mentor 19-9 in the third, cutting the deficit to 35-38 to close the quarter.

The fourth quarter brought Stow their first lead of the night after a three pointer by senior Chrissie Vaughn brought the score to 44-43 with 4:20 left to go. Mentor continued to fight as the lead went back and forth between the two teams.

A three pointer by senior Morgan Thompson tied the game at 49-49 with one minute to go. Mentor hit a three of their own and gave them a 48-51 lead with 14 seconds left. Staying out of her slump and continuing her hot streak, Thompson drilled a clutch three pointer with seconds left to tie the game, sending it into overtime.

After outscoring Mentor 16-13 in the fourth, Stow carried their momentum into overtime, tightening their defensive pressure and forcing turnovers. A three pointer from Vaughn followed by a steal kept, the Bulldog’s possession with 1:50 to go.

Open opportunities for Mentor were missed, and with a last second heave at the buzzer failing to find the bottom of the net, the Stow Lady Bulldogs somehow overcame the large deficit and defeated the Mentor Cardinals on senior night 57-55.

Thompson finished with a Stow high 18 points, followed by Vaughn, with 17 points.

With the victory over Mentor, Stow closed their regular season play with a record of 15-7. They will begin their post season play at 1 p.m. on Feb. 21, at home against Massillon Perry.