March 10, 2006

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - The Lady Cougars of the University of Saint Francis (Ind.) defeated the Oaks of Menlo (Calif.), 80-50, Friday in the second round of the 15^th annual NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship. The 2006 event is being held at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa.

Saint Francis broke open a 10-10 tie with a 21-0 run during the middle of the first half. During the six minute spurt the Lady Courgars drained four three-point field goals, including a pair by Megan Dossen. USF stretched their lead to 39-14 at intermission.

Dossen led the Saint Francis attack scoring 20 points and pulling down six rebounds. She was joined in double figures by Chivon Keppler with 15 and Lindy Carey added 10. The Lady Cougars also got major contributions from their bench which scored 28 points.

Menlo, who shot 20 percent in the first half, connected twice as often in the second half hitting at a clip of 41.2 percent from the floor. Despite the improvement they were never able to get any closer than 24 in the second half.

Lee Kepua paced the Oaks who netted 20 points and seven boards. Shannon Riley also reached double figures with 12 points. Menlo wraps up their season with a record of 25-4 after setting school records for wins and winning percentage.

The University of Saint Francis advances to the quarterfinals on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

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

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