With just under 30 seconds to play in the overtime period and their game with the Richmond Spiders tied at 53, the Colonials entered the ball in to junior forward Caira Washington, who was doubled down by Spiders defenders. With nowhere to go, Washington tried to switch the ball to Lauren Chase, but her pass was deflected towards the top of the three-point arc.

The ball bounced around, seemingly up for grabs, until Schaible tracked it down. Spiders guard Micaela Parsons, who was also going for the ball, fouled Schaible in the process, putting Richmond over the limit with five fouls, and sending Schaible to the free throw line with three seconds to play. The junior guard drained both attempts, and GW held on for a huge 55-53 victory over the Spiders in its last game of the season at the Smith Center, finishing with a 12-2 record at home.

“Whenever I see a ball on the ground, I want to go after it,” Schaible said. “My dad always taught me that it’s not always about the points that you score, but it’s about the hustle that you show out there.

“It’s something that I do all the time, it just happened that at that time it was at the very end of the game and it was our last chance to score the final points.”

The Colonials got off to a slow start, trailing 14-10 after the first quarter. By the intermission, GW would trail the Spiders 14-6 in points in the paint. Parsons and fellow Spiders guard Janelle Hubbard were getting to the rim at well, using the dribble-drive effectively against the man-to-man defense employed by the Colonials.

“We felt like in the first half they established one on one matchup that they liked and exploited those matchups off the bounce,” head coach Jonathan Tsipis said.

Things changed as Lauren Chase attacked the rim relentlessly, using her quickness and body control to finish past the Richmond bigs. Chase’s attacks would begin to open up touches for the frontcourt in the paint, and Washington (eight points), Kelli Prange (10 points), and Brianna Cummings (10 points) took advantage. On the defensive end, the Colonials switched to a 2-3 zone that frustrated the Spiders guards’ ability to get to the rim.

By the end of the game, the Colonials had completely reversed the story of the game in the paint, outscoring the Spiders 30-24 in that area.

“As a team, we don’t get too high or too low,” Chase said. “I always want to push the tempo because when I get in the paint, the post players have to help on me and I can feed the ball to my teammates.”

The second half was a back-and-forth affair, with teams struggling to gain control of the game. GW gained a 48-46 advantage heading into the final seconds of the game, but Chase’s frontcourt pass was deflected by Parsons, who chased it down on the other end.

Richmond had a chance to tie with the ball in Parson’s hands. While her left-handed shot was heavily contested by Cummings and Washington, forward Salita Greene was left unattended for an easy putback to send the game into overtime.

In the overtime period, Schaible took over. Following a Cummings and-one, Schaible got three the hard way herself, hitting an off-balance runner and drawing contact. After a Tuuli Menna layup for Richmond, the game remained tied at 53 until the fateful scrum that would see Schaible emerge as the hero.

Tsipis explained that he likes to believe that his players embody his own enthusiasm as a coach.

“Your attitude and your enthusiasm is something that you can always control,” Tsipis said. “I think you have a special bond with our group, and you can see how they care for each other and how they trust each other.”

Though the status of injured star Jonquel Jones is still “day-to-day” according to Tsipis, he noted that she has been shooting and doing drills in practice, and that the only step now is clearance from the medical staff.

GW will look to close out its season with a win at George Mason on Saturday afternoon. Tip is slated for 2 p.m.