March 13, 2006

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Hastings College (Neb.) was able to slow tournament-scoring leader Deb Remmerde as they defeated Northwestern (Iowa) 63-50 to advance to the championship game 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.

The Broncos of Hastings were able to limit Remmerde to 22 points, eight under her tournament average of 30.5 points per game. Despite being kept in check, Remmerde was able to set the record for most points in a tournament with 144 points in four games. The previous record was held by Sandie Graves of Western Oregon, coming in the 1996 tourney.

Senior Katie Dent was faced with the daunting task of guarding Remmerde for the Broncos. She responded, denying the ball and playing tight defense up and down the court. In addition to her defense, Dent finished the night with five steals and 14 rebounds to go along with two points. She now has 100 rebounds in her tournament career, 54 in this year's tournament.

This was the fourth meeting between the two teams this season with Northwestern leading the series 2-1.

Northwestern, playing in their fifth tournament and third semifinals, opened the game with a three-pointer by Amy Larson for the early lead. The teams battled to a 10-10 tie. From that point Hastings used an 8-0 run to take control of the game and open up a 30-18 advantage at half despite shooting just 23.8 percent from the field.

Things only got better in the second half for Hastings as they shot 48.1 percent from the field and pushed their lead to as many as 23 with 6:59 remaining. Stacy Svoboda paced a balance attack for the Broncos with 14 poitns. Lynnze Martinsen and Kay Broekemeier added 14 and 12 points respectively. As a team Hastings finished with 10 steals, converting them into 18 points.

For the Red Raiders of Northwestern, Remmerde was the only player in double figures. Crystal Allgood had seven blocked shots in the game to go along with seven points and four boards. The Red Raiders end their season with a record of 30-5.

This will be the third trip to the finals for the Broncos who were back-to-back champions in 2002 and 2003. They will take on the winner of Monday's other semifinal between College of the Ozarks (Mo.) and the University of Saint Francis (Ind.). The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes Tuesday, March 14.

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

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