WINONA LAKE - Though the game was played on St. Patrick's Day, there was no pot of gold or luck of the Irish for Grace College's women's basketball team.
Playing the Roberts Weslyean University Raiders in the first round of the eight-team NCCAA Division I National Tournament at the Orthopaedic Capital Center, the host Lady Lancers were just 24 of 75 (32 percent) from the field overall, 9 of 29 from three-point range, and 3 of 8 from the free throw line.Roberts Wesleyan wasn't much better, making just 29 of 76 (38 percent) shots overall, 3 of 18 three-pointers and 6 of 17 charity tosses, but the Raiders made plays when they had to and beat Grace 67-60 in overtime Thursday evening.
"I thought we ran our offense well, but we missed a lot of easy, easy shots," said Grace College coach Scott Blum. "I'm proud of the kids for running the offense so well, but we've got to knock those shots down."
The teams were knotted at 19-all at halftime and 52-all at the end of regulation before Roberts Wesleyan outscored Grace 15-8 in the five-minute overtime session.
With the seven-point victory, the fourth-seeded Raiders improved to 20-11 on the season and advanced to today's 7 p.m. semifinal game against No. 1 seed Southwest Assemblies of God.
Second-seeded Bethel College will play No. 3 seed Emmanuel College in the first semifinal game at 5 p.m.
Grace, the No. 5 seed, fell to 16-16 on the season and was scheduled to play eighth-seeded King College today at 3 p.m.
"Our only goal for this tournament this year was to win it," said Blum. "We'll find out what type of ladies they are. They have to come out (today) and play like it's a game in the winner's bracket."
Though they struggled to make shots, the Lady Lancers certainly had their opportunities to win the game.
Grace led by seven points twice in the second half, 42-35 and 44-37.
The Raiders, however, stormed back and took a 50-47 lead.
A three-pointer by Autumn Heflin tied the contest at 50-all with 2:26 remaining, and then Roberts Wesleyan took a 52-50 advantage.
A pair of free throws by Hayley Cashier with 35 seconds left sent the teams into overtime knotted at 52.
After battling back and forth in the early going of the overtime period, the Raiders used second-chance opportunities to turn a 60-60 tie into a six-point advantage, and ultimately a seven-point win.
"Our mindset for the past week has been that we have to defend them," said Blum. "That's why they're the No. 2 offensive rebounding team in the country. We gave them second chances and we got beat."
Grace out-rebounded the Raiders 52-43, including a 16-14 advantage on the offensive glass, but the three put-backs after the game was tied at 60-all proved to be the difference.
Bianca Jones was 10 of 15 from the field and led Roberts Wesleyan with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Brittany McMillon added 18 points and 16 rebounds in the win.
For Grace, Kiera Gray led the way with 15 points and also added six rebounds and three assists, while Cashier finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, Hannah Lengel chipped in with seven points and eight boards and Kate Ball scored eight points.
DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPIONS PULL OFF OVERTIME THRILLER
WINONA LAKE - Mid-America Christian gave defending NCCAA national champion Bethel College everything it could handle but fell 73-70 in overtime of the opening game of the 2011 NCCAA Tournament.
Bethel, the No. 2 seed, found itself on the brink of being eliminated in regulation, behind 58-52 with under a minute remaining, but senior Heather Seyfred scored eight points in 34 seconds to put Bethel ahead by two. Only a tough jumper by Marcy Robinson allowed No. 7 seed Mid-America to send the game into overtime.
It was Seyfred that saved the Lady Pilots (18-14) from a first round exit, but in the overtime period, it was senior Bekah Basinger's turn. Basinger scored 12 of Bethel's 13 overtime points, including a big-time three-pointer to keep Bethel in the game when it was down 66-62 with 1:38 remaining.
With the score tied at 70, the Lady Evangels (14-17) had a chance to take the lead, but on a loose-ball scramble mistakenly called a timeout when they had none. A technical foul was assessed, and Seyfred hit one free throw to put Bethel up one.
In the first half, the Lady Pilots (18-14) struggled out of the gate by hitting only 6 of its 33 field goal attempts (18.2 percent). Bethel's defense, however, kept the Lady Evangels (14-16) at bay. Mid-America Christian committed 13 turnovers before halftime and 25 turnovers overall.
Mid-America found its offensive strength in the paint, scoring 14 of 20 first-half points in the key.
Seyfred had a game-high 24 points with five three-pointers, Basinger tallied 23 points and was 11 of 16 from the charity stripe, and Mandy Yoder contributed 11 points for the Lady Pilots. Kristen Hicks grabbed 10 boards, Basinger had nine, and Seyfred had seven.
Mid-America was led by Brittany Johnson?s 14 points on 7 of 12 shooting and 12 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season. Robinson totaled 13 points, Nicole Wittman tallied 12, and Tranecia Smith added nine. April Hale also added nine points and nine rebounds.
The Lady Pilots play today at 5 p.m., and Mid-America was scheduled to play at 1 p.m.
EMMANUEL OUTREBOUNDS, OUTPACES TRINITY INTERNATIONAL
WINONA LAKE - Kaylyn Young scored a game-high 27 points to lead Emmanuel College in a 69-55 win over Trinity International University.
In a game that was dominated by turnovers (54 overall), Emmanuel held a plus-18 advantage on the boards to outmuscle Trinity International.
The No. 3 Lions (18-14) stayed in front for most of the first half, pushing their lead up to seven points on fivet occasions and held a 28-24 lead at the break.
The No. 6 Trojans (18-15) charged out of the gate in the second half, using a 9-1 run to go up by four points. But Emmanuel came back with 10 unanswered points and used that momentum to outpace Trinity International.
Young nailed a trio of three-pointers, grabbed nine rebounds, and hit 10 of 17 from the free throw line. Ashley Jackson finished with eight points and 14 boards, Tiawanna Allen had 13 points and 11 boards, and Aubany Thomas chipped in 10 points.
Trinity International did its best to harass Emmanuel defensively, coming up with 16 steals and forcing the Lions in 28 turnovers. But the Trojans finished just 34.9 percent from the field (22 of 63) and 41.2 percent from the free throw line (7 of 17).
Emmanuel was not much better from the free throw line, managing to hit only 19 of 40 (47.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Lions grabbed 24 offensive rebounds, led by eight from Jackson. Emmanuel grabbed as many offensive rebounds as Trinity International did defensive boards.
Melanie Duplessis led the Trojans with 16 points, four assists and three steals, and Reanna Perera added 11 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Emmanuel will play at 5 p.m. today against No. 2 Bethel, and Trinity International was scheduled to take on No. 7 Mid-America Christian at 1 p.m.
HAWKINS SCORES 29 POINTS IN SOUTHWESTERN ASSEMBLY OF GOD'S VICTORY
WINONA LAKE - Southwestern Assembly of God University's Stephanie Hawkins tallied a season-high 29 points in SAGU's 74-63 victory over King College in the opening round of the NCCAA tournament Thursday.
SAGU jumped to an 8-0 lead at the start, holding King scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, and never looked back.
King College, the No. 8 seed, hung with the No. 1 seeded Lady Lions (21-12) the remainder of the contest but couldn't overcome its early deficit. King never tied the score and never led in the game.
Trailing 55-39 with 11:50 remaining, the Lady Tornado (13-17) mounted a 13-5 run to cut SAGU's lead to eight points with six minutes left in regulation. SAGU, however, went on a 14-3 run of its own to put the game out of reach for King.
SAGU led by as many as 13 points in the first half and 19 points in the second half.
Although King forced 24 SAGU turnovers compared to 20 of its own, it was haunted by poor shooting throughout the evening. The Lady Tornado went 6 of 27 from beyond the arc (22 percent) and shot 32 percent overall.
The Lady Lions outscored King 32-16 in the paint.
On top of Hawkins' 29 points, she also grabbed six boards, went 9 of 18 from the floor, 3 of 5 from downtown and 8 of 10 from the charity stripe. SAGU was also paced by Heather Jefferson's 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting and Chelsea Jones' 15 points and six steals.
King was led by Ashley Deans, who totaled 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Jessica Tharpe chipped in 10 with points.
SAGU will play at 7 p.m. on Friday, and King was scheduled to play at 11 a.m.
