In a game where points were extremely hard to come by, Hickman's Taylor Spencer picked a huge time to drop in her only bucket of the game.
With the Kewpies trailing the Helias Lady Crusaders by a point in overtime, the sophomore splashed home a 3-pointer to give Hickman the lead for good in what turned out to be a 40-36 win at Rackers Fieldhouse.
Having tried just two shots previously - a missed 3 in the first quarter and another in the second - Spencer drilled the biggest shot of the game with 1:24 left in the extra session.
"She's a 3-point shooter and she wasn't shooting," Hickman coach Tonya Mirts said. "We were like, "That's what they're giving us - you've got to shoot the ball.' For her to not do it all game and then step up and do that was huge."
Hickman ended up outscoring Helias 7-3 in the four-minute overtime that featured three lead changes after regulation ended tied at 33.
"We had our absolute backs to the wall tonight and we responded with two minutes of basketball where we really played well," Mirts said.
After Helias' Mai Nienhueser hit 1-of-2 free throws to start the scoring in overtime, Hickman's Kelsey Mirts drilled a jumper to make it 35-34.
Nienhueser came right back with a twisting layup that gave her the last of her game-high 20 points.
"She's been so key for us lately, we've just got to keep her confidence up," Helias coach Sarah Eagan said. "She's been playing excellent. Great things happen when we get her the ball."
Spencer responded with her big shot and two free throws by Hickman with :10.7 left were the only other points of overtime.
"Helias made us a better basketball team tonight," Mirts said. "... It was a great game to be in at this point in the year."
Hickman swept the season series with Helias after beating the Lady Crusaders 58-46 back on Dec. 29 in the State Farm Holiday Hoops Invitational.
"We played them a lot closer than we did the first game - I'm really proud of our girls' effort the past few games," Eagan said.
Defense ruled for most of the game, as it was tied at 6 after one period and Hickman took a 13-10 lead into halftime.
Thanks to eight points by Nienhueser in the third quarter, Helias outscored Hickman 11-4 to take a 21-17 lead into the fourth.
"I thought (Helias) kind of dictated the tempo the entire game," Mirts said.
Hickman scored the first seven points of that quarter on a pair of layups by Danni Nichols and a 3 by Cassie Kent to make it 24-21.
The Kewpies then appeared to be on their way to breaking it open when they went up 31-25 with four minutes left, only to see the Lady Crusaders get a three-point play by Nienhueser and a 3-pointer by Ashley Rehagen to tie it at 31 less than a minute later.
Both teams had their chances down the stretch, but nervousness got the best of them in the waning moments, as the teams combined for three turnovers in the final nine seconds of regulation.
A 3-point try by Kent from near half-court barely missed at the buzzer, sending it to overtime.
Eagan said the extra period proved taxing for the Lady Crusaders.
"We haven't been in that situation much this year, so it was kind of new to us," she said. "We went a little bit deeper (to the bench) tonight than we usually do, so that helped, but our legs were dead by the end of it.
"I thought our girls pushed through it well, I could tell they wanted it. They're a lot more athletic than us and I think that hurt us at the end."
In addition to Nienhueser's big night, Helias (13-9) also got eight points from Morgan Wieberg, including two huge jumpers early in the fourth quarter on the press break.
Hickman (18-4) was led by 14 points from Kent and 10 by Nichols.
Helias returns to action Tuesday at Father Tolton.
In Thursday's JV game, Hickman posted a 39-32 win.
Maria Galbraith had 12 points to pace the Lady Crusaders.