MILWAUKEE, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) -- The Marian University women's basketball team won its second straight overtime conference thriller tonight, Jan. 24, on the road against the Alverno Inferno. Free throw shooting in the extra five minutes proved to be vital as the Sabres went 7-of-9 from the charity stripe to finish off Alverno, 70-66.

Sarah Olewinski continued to lead the Sabre offense on the night, scoring 26 points on 9-of-21 shooting, including five three-pointers. Nicole Paulus pitched in 11 points as Marian's starting five scored 54 of the team's 70 points.

The Inferno gave a balanced performance from their starters as well, with four of the five scoring over 12 points, but received only four points from the bench.

It was the Sabres who gained early control, continuously answering whatever the Inferno had in store for them. After Brittany Bauman scored a layup with 44 seconds remaining in the first, the Sabres went into halftime with a seven-point lead.

Paulus opened up the second half with a three-pointer to put the Sabres up 10, but a 10-to-2 run by the Inferno reduced the Sabre lead to two. The Inferno were able to steal the lead with over 11 minutes remaining, but after 9 minutes of playing from behind, the Sabres evened the game up at 54-54 thanks to two Olewinski free throws.

The Sabres fell behind by two points with 11 seconds left when Olewinski delivered again, tying the game on a layup with 2 seconds remaining on the clock to bring it to overtime. The Sabres eventually sealed the deal thanks to five Inferno fouls and a 7-for-9 effort at the free throw line. 

Alverno outshot the Sabres 47.3 percent to 31.9 on the night, but only made 5-of-12 from the free throw line. Marian shot 68.2 percent from the line on the night and 37.9 percent from beyond the arc.

With the win, the Sabres (11-7, 7-6 NACC) move into sixth place in the NACC as the Inferno (4-13, 2-10 NACC) remain in 11th place. The Sabres will travel to Madison next Wednesday, Jan. 28, when they take on the seventh-place Edgewood Eagles. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.