STEVENS POINT, Wis. –
Nikki Preston sank two pressure free throws with four seconds left,
completing an Illinois Wesleyan University comeback from 23 points
down that gave the Titans a 61-60 win over the George Fox
University Bruins in the “Elite 8” round of the NCAA
Division III Women's Basketball National Tournament Saturday
night here at Berg Gym.
The stunning loss ended the Bruins' winning streak at 14
and their season at 25-6. The Titans (27-4) advance to the
“Final Four” on their home court in Bloomington, Ill.,
on March 18-19, to face the Washington University-St. Louis Bears
(24-5), who defeated the University of Chicago 63-58, in one
semifinal game. Joining them will be Amherst College (30-1),
which has been to the “Final Four” each of the last two
years, matched up against Christopher Newport University
(29-3). Amherst defeated the only remaining unbeaten team in
Division III, Babson College, 68-49, while CNU downed Lebanon
Valley College 62-50. Game times and who will play first or
second are still to be announced by the NCAA.
George Fox opened the game in lightning fashion with a 16-0 run
in the game's first eight minutes, with six different players
contributing to the outburst. Keisha Gordon hit a three to
open the game and Hayley Cusick capped the rally with a layup.
The Titans finally broke their scoreless drought with a
jumper by Olivia Lett with 11:41 left in the half, but the Bruins
went on an 11-2 run over the next seven minutes to make it a
23-point game at 27-4 following a Gordon layup with 5:04 to
go.
The Titans finally found the range in the last five minutes of
the period, out-scoring the Bruins 15-6 to close the gap to 33-21
at the intermission. A three-pointer by Preston and
back-to-back treys by Melissa Gardner in the last 1:07 keyed the
rally.
Hannah Munger scored the first basket of the
second half and the Bruins kept a lead between 13 and 17 points
over the first 10 minutes of the final period. Munger
completed a three-point play to make it 51-35 with 10:17 left, but
the Titans exploded for a 9-0 run to get back within single
digits. A three by Gardner and a steal and layup by Hope
Schulte turned it into a seven-point game at 51-44 with 8:32 to
play.
Breezy Rinehart-Young hit a layup to end the IWU run at 8:19,
but a free throw by Schulte and a three by Holly Harvey cut the
Bruin lead to five at 53-48 with 6:46 remaining. After a swap
of baskets, Cusick banked in a jumper, then made a steal and fed
Carrie Myers for a layup to boost the Bruin lead back to 59-50 with
4:28 left.
From then on, the Bruins missed four shots, committed three
turnovers against the Titans' full-court press, and made only
one free throw, by Rinehart-Young with 3:08 left. IWU got
baskets by Britt Hasselbring and Lett, then Preston took over,
hitting a layup at 1:13, a three with 45 seconds left, and the two
game-winning free throws. Cusick missed a desperation
three-point try at the buzzer as the Bruins' season
ended.
George Fox shot .511 (23-45) from the field, .706 (12-17) from
the line, and out-rebounded IWU 35-28, but committed 24 turnovers
that proved costly to only 15 by the Titans. Illinois
Wesleyan shot .400 (24-60) from the floor, .600 (6-10) from the
line, and made 7-26 three-pointers to only 2-7 for the Bruins.
Munger led all scorers with 19 points, becoming the George Fox
single-season record holder for points with 502; the old mark was
485 by Keith Leith in 2004-05. Rinehart-Young and Cusick had
nine points apiece, with Cusick passing out six assists and making
three steals. Arianna Mohsenian also had three steals.
Preston and Gardner had 10 points each to pace the Titans, while
Shelby Jackson had a team-high five rebounds. Schulte handed
out six assists, and Lett made five steals.
NOTES: The Bruins will return home to
Portland on Sunday morning, arriving at 11:09 a.m. on Delta
Airlines #2163, for fans who wish to meet the team and congratulate
them on another fine season.
