March 15, 2008
SIOUX CITY, Iowa. - No. 1 seed College of the Ozarks (Mo.) cruised to a 78-53 victory over Concordia University (Neb.) in the quarterfinals of the17th annual NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa.
Ozarks (34-1) jumped out to a quick 24-14 lead less than ten minutes into the first half and the lead would never be less than 13 going into halftime with the Bobcats leading 38-25. Lindsy Murray hit a jumper in the paint to start the second half scoring for Ozarks en route to an 8-0 run to start the second half. From that point the Ozarks lead would be greater than 20 points for the remainder of the quarterfinal matchup.
Concordia (26-7) could not find a shooting touch on the afternoon as the Ozarks held the Bulldogs to 31 percent (19-for-61) shooting. The Bobcats also forced 25 Concordia turnovers which led to 33 points for the Ozarks. On the other hand while Concordia was cold from the field Ozarks was not drastically better shooting 40 percent (29-for-72) from the field. The Bobcats out rebounded Concordia 52-42 that included 17 offensive rebounds.
Ozarks was led offensively by Murray with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, while three other starters each went for 11 points apiece: Janessa Demuth, Kayli Combs, and Rebekah Howard.
Concordia was led offensively by Libby Hirssig with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
Ozarks advances to the semifinals to take on the winner of Hastings (Neb.) vs. Bethel (Ind.) at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. This is Ozarks third consecutive season making an appearance in the semifinals, last year the Bobcats defeated MidAmerica Nazarene 80-68 before falling to Indiana Wesleyan in the championship game.
Concordia ends the season having five of their seven season losses happening to teams still active in the championship tournament.
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