March 13, 2008
SIOUX CITY, Iowa. - The first day of the 17th annual NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa, saw the defending national champion Indiana Wesleyan bounced from the event in the first round by William Jewell (Mo.). A pair of other lower seeds also pulled off upsets and one record tied on the day.
The day opened as No. 2 seed Davenport University picked up a win over seventh seed Southwestern College (Kan.), 76-66. Davenport was led by senior Jeanette Woodberry who finished with a game-high 25 points, 17 coming in the first half as the Panthers opened up a commanding 49-27 advantage at half. Davenport will take on Concordia University (Neb.) who was also a winner on day one.
Concordia (Neb.) won the battle of the Bulldogs, defeating Union (Ky.) 84-64. Concordia had four players in double figures with junior Whitney Stichka leading the way with18 points. Senior Jenni Lovegrove added a double-double for Concordia, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Concordia also was 26-for-38 from the free throw line. Union was paced by sophomore Brooke Smith who finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 18 points and 9 rebounds.
Both of the No. 1 seeds in action on the opening day of play picked up convincing wins. College of the Ozarks (Mo.), who held the No.1 ranking the entire season, has yet to lose to an NAIA foe (32-1). The Bobcats opened the game with a 36-to-1 run in the first nine minutes of the game and never looked back en route to a 110-37 win over Maine-Fort Kent. They also tied the team mark for most threes in a game with 17. Ozarks will take on MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.).
MidAmerica was a winner over Daemen (N.Y.) The Lady Pioneers were led by senior Jenna Matson. Matson finished with a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Also reaching double digits were Taylor Ford (20), Ashley Patterson (13) and JoNel Henning (11). MidAmerica Nazarene also forced 23 Damen turnovers.
Morningside (Iowa) cruised to a first round victory over Berea (Ky.) 104-80. Brittany Williamson finished with a game-high 30 points and 16 rebounds for Morningside. The Mustangs dominated the boards with Williamson's help, out rebounding Berea 69-47. Morningside also outscored the Lady Mountaineers in the paint, 42-28. Morningside will take on St. Ambrose (Iowa).
Defending champion and No. 3 seed Indiana Wesleyan University was upset by No. 6 seed William Jewell who downed the Wildcats 49-38. William Jewell held Indiana Wesleyan to 22 percent shooting in the first half on the way to a 22-15 halftime advantage. Lisa Thompson paced the Cardinals with a game-high 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, along with hitting on 5-of-10 free throws.
William Jewell will take on Minot State (N.D.) who had one of the other upsets of the day.
Seventh seed Minot shot 54 percent from the floor to upset second seed Shawnee State, 94-82. Shawnee State, who lost for just the third time this season, converted on just 17 percent of their attempts from long range and were out-rebounded 41-33. The Beavers of Minot were led by Kendra Meyers with a game-high 28 points. Also eclipsing the 20-point plateau was Brittni Walker with 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting. She also grabbed seven rebounds.
In the final game of the night St. Ambrose (Iowa) took down Southern Oregon, 77-56. St. Ambrose used a strong second half run to take the victory and advance to the second round for the first time since their 2000 tournament appearance. St. Ambrose will take on Morningside on Friday afternoon.
The 32-team, single elimination tournament continues Thursday, March 13, with the remaining eight games of the first round. Friday features eight games in the second round. Saturday is the quarterfinal round and Monday, March 17 is the semifinal round. The tournament concludes Tuesday, March 18 with the championship game at 6:30 p.m
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