March 9, 2007

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Saint Francis (Ind.) became the second No. 1 seed to advance to the quarterfinals with a 63-46 win over No. 5 seed Mount Marty (S.D.), on Friday afternoon to advance to the quarterfinals of the 16^th annual NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa.

 

The teams were tied five times and swapped the lead six times in the opening frame as both teams led by as many as four. Mount Marty (22-10) was able stay close despite shooting just 24.1 percent from the floor, although three of their seven field goals were from beyond the arc.

 

Saint Francis (28-7) pulled away slowly in the second half and took their biggest lead (10 points) on a bucket by Jessica Hathaway. The Cougars shot 45.5 percent from the field in the second half and 42.4 percent for the game and were the benefit of continued cold shooting by the Lancers who shot just 25.9 percent for the game.

 

Kacy Blotkamp converted a rare four-point play to extend the Saint Francis advantage with 1:37 remaining. For the game the Cougars were led by Nikki Lewis with 16 points. Hathaway added a double double (12 points, 14 rebounds) while Toni Burney was in double digits on the boards (10).

Mount Marty came into the game without any players averaging double figures and finished the game that way. Tevan Wenbourne led all Lancer scorers with nine, while Amy Biggie added eight points.

Indiana Wesleyan will take on MidAmerica Nazarene in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.  

For more information on the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship visit www.naia.org.