11th-ranked Northwestern College is heading to the national semifinals with a thrilling 89-83 overtime win over 19th-ranked University of St. Francis (Ill.) in a quarterfinal match-up played tonight at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Red Raiders advance to the Fab Four for the 10th time in program history and for the first time since the 2012-13 season. They improve to 10-2 in the national quarterfinals.
Kassidy De Jong recorded her third straight double-double with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds, one of five Red Raiders to score in double figures.
Anna Kiel scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, six on the offensive end, for her third consecutive 20+-point game.
Renee Maneman added 17 points and eight rebounds and both
Darbi Gustafson (12 points, 10 rebounds) and
Paige Danner (10 points, 4 rebounds) were also in double figures.
Down three (66-63) with 3:15 left in regulation, Kiel scored off a putback and two Maneman free throws put Northwestern back in front by one, 67-66. Kiel scored again the next two times on the offensive end to cap an 8-1 run that gave Northwestern a four-point lead with under a minute left.
A St. Francis three-pointer from Kaitlin Aylward cut the Northwestern lead down to one but two free throws by Gustafson put the score back to 73-70 with 38 seconds left. The Fighting Saints hit another big three-pointer, this time from Leah Sims, to tie the game at 73 and Northwestern missed on a chance to win it in the final seconds.
Northwestern scored the first four points of the overtime period, taking the lead for good on two Maneman free throws. St. Francis came within one point (76-75) after a three-point play by Madi Canady but the Red Raiders answered with a 9-2 run and never let the Fighting Saints get closer than four the rest of the way.
Free throws and rebounding were two big keys for the Red Raiders as they made 36-40 attempts from the line (90%) and held a commanding 50-24 edge on the boards, pullind down 20 on the offensive end.
Northwestern shot 42% for the game and overcame a tough shooting night from the arc, going 1/9 from the three-point line.
St. Francis was led by Aylward with 21 points, followed by Kamari Jordan with 19. The Fighting Saints shot 49% for the game, 40% (10/25) from the three-point line but were just 7-for-11 from the free throw line. They end the year with a 22-10 record.
The Fighting Saints used a 10-3 run midway in the first quarter to take a 21-13 advantage after one period. They stretched their lead to as much as 11 (32-21) after a jumper by Nichole Davison before Danner scored five straight points and sparked a 22-3 run to close the half for a 43-35 halftime lead. Northwestern scored 14 straight points at one point, holding St. Francis scoreless for over four minutes.
Gustafson made 1-of-2 free throws to put Northwestern in front by nine, 44-35, to open the second half. St. Francis outscored the Red Raiders 22-13 to tie the game at 57 heading into the final quarter.
Northwestern advances to Monday's semifinal with a 25-8 record and will play Concordia (Neb.) at 8pm.
NAIA Press Release |
