On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Grambling State Lady Tigers and Florida A&M Rattlers put on an absolute show in a triple overtime battle. For perspective, a team may have a handful of overtime games during the year. A double overtime game is a rarity, so the fact that this game took three additional periods of play is astounding. At the end of the extended play, the Lady Tigers just barely came out on top.

Coming into the game, the Rattlers were hoping to get their season on track. They had a tough out-of-conference schedule with games against #11 Tennessee, Florida, California, Houston, and Michigan. In their last four games including this loss to Grambling State, Florida A&M went 1-3. Each of those losses, however, were by two possessions or less. Previously, they had defeated the Southern Tigers 59-53 and were hoping to grab two wins in a row.

Grambling State's season has been going swimmingly. Prior to the triple overtime thriller, the Lady Tigers held an 8-6 record and a 2-1 record in the SWAC. They seem to have a penchant for close games as they previously defeated Bethune-Cookman 63-62 on the road.

Both the first and second quarters went completely in Florida A&M's favor. In the opening five minutes, they jumped out to a 15-4 lead. Ahriahna Grizzle and Peryonna Sylvester juiced the Rattler offense to one of their best starts of the season. Grambling State fought back a little bit to cut the deficit to single digits, but Sylvester hit a three-pointer to extend the lead back to 11 points. A pair of free throws at the tail end of the quarter made it a 22-11 game after the first 10 minutes of play.

The Rattlers cooled off slightly in the second quarter, but they still outscored their opponent 16-11. The lead hovered around the 10-point mark for most of the period. In the final minutes, Olivia Delancy hit a three-pointer to give Florida A&M 15-point lead. Grambling State's Kaci Chairs made a layup on the other end, but in response, Ivet Subirats hit another shot from deep to widen the lead. Florida A&M went into the halftime break up 38-22 on one of the best teams in the SWAC in Grambling State.

The beginning of the third quarter continued much of the same trends started in the first half. Grambling State cut the lead to 11 at one point, but Florida A&M responded with consecutive three-pointers from Subirats and Delancy. On multiple occasions, the Rattlers led the Lady Tigers by as much as 17 points. In the final three minutes, however, Grambling State went on an 11-2 run. They managed to cut the lead to single digits, 54-47, going into the fourth quarter.

Now desperate to get the win, the Lady Tigers amped up the pressure on defense. They played with much more tenacity and energy which seemed to shock the Rattlers. They opened the quarter with an 8-0 run and took the lead for the first time. Adding to Grambling State's momentum, Ahriahna Grizzle fouled out early in the final period of regulation. Though she hadn't had a fantastic night, she has been one of the leading scorers for Florida A&M. The Rattlers' Nashani Gilbert went on her own 5-0 stretch in an effort to rebuild the lead, but Zayla Tinner and Anijah Grant, the SWAC Co-Impact Player of the Week, helped tie the game up again.

With over two minutes to go, Grambling State's DeMya Young hit a three-pointer to go up 64-61. Neither team would score again until Delancy drained a three in response with no hesitation as the clock read 30 seconds. Grambling State turned the ball over on their ensuing possession, giving Florida A&M the perfect opportunity to resist the comeback. Instead, Subirats dribbled much of the remaining clock out seemingly without a plan, and her final shot missed, sending the game to overtime.

In the first overtime, Grambling State built a quick four-point lead in the first two minutes. The Rattlers couldn't get a bucket until Sylvester made a pair of free throws. 30 seconds later, she made a tough layup to tie the game at 70 with about 95 seconds to play. Grambling's Kahia Warmsley hit a clutch jump shot with 30 seconds to go and, considering Florida A&M's overtime offense, seemed to be the game winning shot. In the final seconds, however, Delancy got fouled with 3.8 seconds left. She made both free throws, but they barely went in. Both shots bounced twice off the back rim and through the net. With those free throws, the game went into double overtime.

Delancy hit another pair of shots from the stripe to open the sixth period of play, but Grant responded to tie the game. Florida A&M got fouled for another set of free throws to take a 76-74 lead. Warmsley fired back with a three-pointer of her own, giving the Lady Tigers the one-point advantage. Subirats later charged to the rim and made an and-one layup on a questionable block/charge call that went in her favor. Although the Rattlers went up two points, they eventually lost two more of their best scorers. Both Subirats and Delancy fouled out, further bogging down the stagnant Florida A&M offense. Warmsley made a pair of free throws to tie the game at 79, and since neither team could score again, the game descended into triple overtime.

At the start of the third overtime, the momentum began to sway towards Florida A&M. Sylvester had a nasty move, spinning out of a double team and into a euro-step, capping off the sequence with a left-handed layup. The next possession, she dished to Gilbert for an open three-pointer. Flordia A&M took a somewhat commanding 85-81 lead with 2:45 remaining. Grambling State, however, stayed calm. Young hit a pair of free throws to reduce the deficit to two points. Warmsley later hit a jumper to tie the game, taking away the Rattlers' momentum. Without their leading scorers, Florida A&M couldn't get much going. Young hit yet another pair from the stripe to take an 87-85 lead. Sylvester tried another tough layup, but this time, the ball didn't go in. Grant made one of two free throws, but Florida A&M didn't even take a three on the final possession as they were sped up by the waning clock. Grambling State crawled out alive, 88-85.

In the absence of their leading scorers down the stretch, Nashani Gilbert stepped up. In 52 minutes of play, she had 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Peryonna Sylvester had 18 points, two rebounds, and two assists in 49 minutes. Olivia Delancy poured in 17 points, six rebounds, and three assists. All three women made all of their free throws and combined for eight three-pointers. Ivet Subirats also hit two threes on her way to 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Lastly, Ahriahna Grizzle, who fouled out in regulation, finished with 10 points, three rebounds, and six assists.

Kahia Warmsley and Zayla Tinner did much of the heavy lifting for Grambling State. Warmsley finished with 22 points, five rebounds, and made four three-pointers. Tinner had 19 points, four rebounds, and three blocks. DeMya Young made some clutch free throws on her way to 14 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Anijah Grant also had two steals to go along with her 11 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks. Brenda McKinney nearly had a double-double of six points and 11 rebounds.

Florida A&M will try to redeem themselves against Arkansas Pine-Bluff in their next game. Meanwhile, Grambling State looks to extend their winning streak to three against Southern. Both teams play on Jan. 20.