March 14, 2008

SIOUX CITY, Iowa. - No. 1 seed College of the Ozarks (Mo.) twice lost double digit leads before pulling away for 82-71 victory over MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in the second round of the17^th annual NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa.

College of the Ozarks (33-1) received a strong performance off the bench from Emily Nichols because regular starter Lindsay Murray found herself in foul trouble and subsequently played less than 12 minutes in the game.

The majority of the first half was played with the teams in tight contention but Ozarks used a quick strike offense to jump out to a late 10 point lead heading into halftime, 44-34. MidAmerica's halftime adjustments worked well as the Lady Pioneers were able to cut slightly into the Ozarks lead. The Bobcats depth and skill proved to be too much for MidAmerica as MidAmerica was never able to close the gap.

Kayli Combs led Ozarks with 25 points while Rebekah Howard and Janessa DeMuth each scored in double digits with 18 and 17 points respectively.

MidAmerica (25-11) was led offensively by senior Jenna Matson who notched a double-double with 32 points and 14 rebounds. JoNel Henning added 13 points while Ashley Patterson contributed with 12 points for the Lady Pioneers.

Ozarks advances to the quarter finals to take on Concordia (Neb.) at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.