March 7, 2007

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - After a slow start No. 1 seed Cedarville University picked up the pace and outdistanced No. 8 seed Union College (Ky.), 86-63, in the first round of the 16^th annual NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa.

 

Neither team was able to get on the board for almost two minutes to open the game. Cedarville (25-6) put the first points on the board at the 18:14 mark and never looked back, going on an 11-0 run over the next two minutes. Union (19-15) had just one field goal in the first seven and a half minutes as Cedarville opened up a 24-2 advantage. The Lady Jackets led 52-19 at half.

 

Cedarville was paced by Brittany Smart, the all-time leading scorer in NAIA Division II, who finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steal. Smart now has 321 career tournament points, second all-time. She needs 21 points to tie Brenda Schlegel of St. Francis (Ind.) who competed in four tournaments (1997-2000).

 

As team Cedarville shot an impressive 52.3 percent from the field  as 10 different players scored. In addition to Smart, two others reached double figures for the Lady Jackets including Karah Walton (15) and Alison Lemon (14).

Union had a pair of players in double digits, led by Allison Fowler with 19 points and Brooke Smith with a dozen. The Bulldogs were plagued by turnovers throughout the game, with 23 miscues in all.

 

Next up for Cedarville is a second round contest on Friday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m., against the winner of Morningside (Iowa) and Davenport (Mich.).

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