MONROE, La. – Mississippi Valley State scored the first five points of overtime and held on for a 73-72 win over ULM Monday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
The Warhawks (4-10 overall) erased a 10-point deficit with 5:13 to play to eventually force overtime before MVSU (1-8) went on to the win.
 
Sophomore Linda van Schaik nearly willed her team to a win. The South Holland, Netherlands, native had career bests with 21 points and 16 rebounds in 43 minutes. True freshman Amaya Ford tallied 13 points with nine rebounds and five steals while fellow true freshman Aasia Sam had 12 points and two assists. True freshman Bre Sutton picked up nine points and a career-high eight assists. Monroe native Mikayla Etienne led MVSU with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. MVSU had four players in double figures.
 
The first half featured four ties and 10 lead changes as MVSU took a 33-30 halftime lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by Krisen Hunt.
 
MVSU used an 8-2 spurt to begin the second half to open up the lead. The Devilettes went up nine at 41-32 on free throws by Milia Gibson with 7:27 left in the quarter. The Warhawks slowly chipped away at the lead, pulling back within one on a 3-pointer by van Schaik, who went 5-for-11 from deep, at 45-44 with 4:39 left in the third. MVSU rebuilt a nine-point edge with a 10-2 run, capped on Shelli Thigpen's layup with 1:16 left in the quarter, to lead 55-46. ULM was back within six at the end of the quarter, 57-51.
 
In the fourth quarter, MVSU took the lead to 10 at 64-54 on a 3-pointer by Etienne with 5:13 left. The Warhawks, which played the same five players for the final 11:12 of the game, surged in front with a 12-0 run. True freshman Katlyn Manuel started the run with a putback layup. Ford added a layup of her own and Sam knocked down a jumper to get within four, 64-60. After Ford and Manuel hit free throws to get within one at 64-63, van Schaik connected on her fifth trey of the day to give ULM a 66-64 lead with 2:18 remaining.
 
MVSU tied the game on a putback by Zakiya Mahoney, but free throws by Sutton put ULM back ahead, 68-66. Da'Sha McGloster canned a jumper from the right side to tie the game at 68 with 34 seconds to play, eventually sending the game to overtime.
 
The Devilettes had a quick start to overtime with Etienne burying a trey and, after a ULM turnover, McGloster finishing a layup for the 73-68 lead with 4:12 remaining. The Warhawks held MVSU scoreless for the rest of the game, but only came up with four points of their own during the overtime, shooting 1-of-10 from the field. Sutton's runner in the paint bounced off and Manuel's putback fell short as time expired, giving MVSU a 73-72 win.
 
The Warhawks are off until the start of Sun Belt Conference play against Texas State at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.