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Fourth Quarterfinal: Delta State 55, West Texas A&M 47
SAN ANTONIO, Texas-Freshman Veronica Walker scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Delta State to a 55-47 win over West Texas A&M in the fourth quarterfinal of the 2009 NCAA, Division II Women's Basketball Championship Elite Eight Tuesday, March 24.
The dominant defense of Delta State held West Texas A&M to just 13 first half points, and the No. 24-ranked Statesmen survived a late stampede by the No. 11-rated Buffs.
With 4:12 left in the game, the Statesmen (30-6) enjoyed a seemingly comfortable 45-30 lead. Just over three minutes later, West Texas (28-6) cut the lead to just four points at 49-45. The Statesmen made four free throws in the final minute of the game and allowed just two more points to take the victory.
The Statesmen were dominate early defensively, holding West Texas A & M to just 23.1-percent shooting in the first half. After jumping out to a 7-0 lead over the first three minutes of the half, the Buffs rallied to cut the lead to four nearly ten minutes later.
Delta State took a 19-13 lead into the locker room at halftime behind the hot hand of Courtney Wilson, who made 2-of-4 shots from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line to lead the Statesmen with seven points.
In addition to her scoring and rebounding, Walker also had four key blocks. Denesha Henderson added a career-high 12 points and five rebounds, while Wilson added nine points.
The Statesmen shot 55.6-percent in the second half, increasing their shooting percentage to 46.8 for the game, while holding the Buffs to a mere 25.4-percent, establishing a new NCAA postseason record for DSU.
After scoring over 20 points in four of the last six games, West Texas forward and South Central Region All-Tournament Team selection Jamie Dreiling was held to just eight points on 3-of-16 shooting from the field.
Courtney Lee finished with 13 points and Joni Unruh added 10, but it wasn’t enough to erase the lead the Statesmen had built.
Delta State will take on Franklin Pierce in the semifinals Wednesday, March 25.
(Source Delta State)
Third Quarterfinal: Franklin Pierce 85, California (Pa.) 68
SAN ANTONIO, Texas-Despite 30 points from senior guard Linsday Johnson, the No. 6-rated California (Pa.) Vulcans suffered an 85-68 loss to No. 14-ranked Franklin Pierce in the 2009 NCAA, Division II Women's Basketball Championship Elite Eight Tuesday, March 24.
The California women’s basketball team finished the season with a 29-5 overall record after making its fourth Elite Eight appearance in the last seven seasons.
Johnson scored a team-high 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor, including three-of-six from beyond the arc. She also collected six rebounds and two assists. The Ohio native moved into No. 10 place in school history with 1,263 points, surpassing former teammate Kim Nowakowski (2004-07). Johnson also finished her career as one of the most prolific three-point shooters in school history, ranking third all-time with 156 treys.
Despite battling foul trouble, junior All-American guard Brooque Williams finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and six steals. Williams also established a new single-season Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) record for points in a season with 744 points, breaking a 26-year old record of 739 set by Yolanda Laney of Cheyney in the 1983-84 season.
Sophomore forward Kayla Smith added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes after also dealing with foul trouble. Classmate Amber Dubyak posted nine points and five steals, and three assists in the loss, while senior guard Crystal Andrews also collected five steals.
(Source California-Pa.)
Second Quarterfinal: Alaska-Anchorage 66, Clayton State 59
SAN ANTONIO, Texas–All-America center Rebecca Kielpinski delivered 14 points and 13 rebounds and Alaska-Anchorage held Clayton State without a field goal for the final eight minutes Tuesday, March 24 to earn a 66-59 win in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 NCAA, Division II Women’s Basketball Championship Elite Eight.
Ruby Williams and Tamar Gruwell added 11 points apiece for No. 2-ranked UAA (31-3), which advances to its second consecutive national semifinal appearance. The Seawolves will face No. 4-ranked Minnesota State-Mankato (30-2) in that game Wednesday at 3 p.m. Alaska time.
Clayton State (26-7), the winner of the Southeast Region, was led by 12 points from reserve forward Nikkisha Pritchett.
The Seawolves started the game on a roll, scoring the first 12 points before CSU called a timeout. But that break got the Lakers rolling as the Atlanta-based squad turned up its full-court pressure and drained three straight three-pointers to make UAA’s lead evaporate in less than two minutes.
CSU continued to thrive from its pressure throughout the half, forcing 17 UAA turnovers and taking a 39-30 lead into the locker room – the Seawolves’ largest halftime deficit of the season.
The Lakers maintained their lead at around seven to 11 points throughout the first 12 minutes of the second half, but UAA – the nation’s leading defensive club – would bounce back after falling behind 56-43 at the 8:35 mark.
Freshman forward Hanna Johansson (8 pts, 3-6 FG, 5 reb, 2 asst) started the decisive 23-3 surge with an inside bucket, and Williams followed with a layup a minute later.
From there, Gruwell – scoreless to that point in the game – took over on the offensive end, draining three three-pointers in a two-and-half-minute span. Her final swish tied it 57-57 at the 5-minute mark, and Clayton State could not regain control.
After Williams and CSU’s Lesheria Stevens traded pairs of free throws, the Seawolves got a huge break when Stevens slipped and lost her shoe while bringing the ball up the court. Gruwell dove and poked the ball to Kiki Taylor, who found Nikki Aden streaking down the right side for an uncontested layup.
Gruwell grabbed another steal on CSU’s next possession, and the junior from Fairfield, Calif., drained two free throws at the 1:30 mark to make it 63-59.
The Lakers could not convert on their last three field-goal attempts after that, completing an 0-of-10 stretch to end the game.
“I was impressed with Clayton State and how they controlled the game defensively for the most part,” said UAA head coach Tim Moser. “Our kids fought hard, though, and found a way to win despite making all those mistakes (31 turnovers). I’ve never questioned this team’s heart.”
“Our defense needed to save us in the end, and we made our run when Hanna Johansson and Tristan Burnett came in and gave us a lift in that department.”
The Seawolves also dominated down low, where they held a 45-23 rebounding advantage and a 30-12 edge in points in the paint.
Point guard Kiki Taylor had seven points, five assists, four steals and four rebounds for UAA, while Aden and senior forward Dasha Basova scored five points apiece.
Kielpinski, who picked up her third foul midway through the first half, was able to avoid any more in the second stanza, finishing 5-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free throw line. She also had a pair of blocks to push her career total to 259, just two shy of No. 2 on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s all-time list.
UAA’s 31st win breaks last year’s school record for most victories. The Seawolves are now 26-0 when outrebounding their opponents and 12-0 when shooting at least 45 percent (48.9 percent on Tuesday) from the field.
(Source Alaska-Anchorage)
First Quarterfinal: Minnesota State-Mankato 61, Michigan Tech 53
SAN ANTONIO, Texas–The No. 4-ranked Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks kept their NCAA Championship aspirations alive as they defeated the Michigan Tech Huskies 61-53 in their first ever NCAA, Division II Elite Eight game Tuesday, March 24. The win brings MSU’s record to 30-2, while Michigan Tech ends its season with a 27-7 record.
“It was a great win for our team,” said interim head coach Pam Gohl. “They worked hard and in the second half we got some easier looks and the shots started to fall.”
The first half began with Michigan Tech jumping out to an early 14-8 lead with 13:19 left in the half. The Huskies shot 4-of-4 from three point land during that stretch.
The Mavericks and Huskies would remain close the rest of the way, exchanging the lead four times, with Michigan Tech finishing the half with a 31-30 lead. The Huskies finished the half shooting 6-of-7 from beyond the three point line.
Senior guard Jo Noreen led all scorers with 12 points, while shooting 4-of-5 from the field. Senior forward Alex Andrews posted a team-high six rebounds, along with four points.
“We never like going into halftime down,” Noreen said. “We seniors realized it could be our last game and we just went full board.”
Scoring was at a premium early on in the second as Michigan Tech held a two-point lead at 36-34 with 14:00 left in the half. The Mavericks would then begin a 15-5 run, behind seven points from junior guard Tiffany Moe, to take a 49-41 lead with 8:31 left in regulation.
MSU would then extend its lead to 11, at 56-45, behind a three point shot from sophomore guard Andrea Walsh with 4:21 left in the game. The Mavericks would not look back as they closed out the game with a 61-53 win.
Noreen paced the Mavericks with 20 points, along with six rebounds and five steals. Moe added 11 points, eight rebounds and a career-high five steals. Moe and Noreen combined for 10 of MSU’s 12 steals.
“We’re a pretty scrappy team,” Moe said. “Tonight we took the risks of getting in close and it paid off.”
Andrews recorded her 12th career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Minnesota State will take on the winner of the Alaska Anchorage/Clayton State game in the NCAA Final Four Wednesday, at 6 p.m.
(Source Minnesota State-Mankato) | 
