March 16, 2007

JACKSON, Tenn. - The second round of the 27th Annual NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship was played at Oman Arena Friday, and the eight remaining participants include a pair of teams each making their fourteenth appearance, along with three participants appearing in their first-ever quarterfinal games.

Tomorrow's quarterfinal games will be played with start times in two-hour intervals, beginning with the day's first contest at 2 p.m.

Second-seeded Trevecca Nazarene University (Tenn.) broke a 55-55 tie with a pair of Mariska Reed free throws with 17 second left to edge third-seeded Carroll College (Mont.) 57-55 in the opening game of Friday's second round. Abby Lawson finished with a game-high 21 points off the bench for Trevecca Nazarene, while Reed posted 15 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Sophi Forney led Carroll with 16 points on seven-of-eight shooting from the field, and Amy Brooks posted a double-double with totals of 15 points and 11 rebounds.

In the second game of the day, first-seeded Vanguard University (Calif.) built up a 20-point first-half lead and held off a second-half rally from fourth-seeded Oklahoma City to post a 66-57 victory over the five-time NAIA champion Stars. Jessica Richter's first basket of the game lifted Vanguard to its first lead of the game at 6-4 less than three minutes into the game, sparking a 26-6 run that gave the Lions a 30-10 advantage with less than five minutes to play in the opening half. Vanguard went into halftime with a 33-16 advantage. Richter led all scorers with 26 points, adding six rebounds and a tournament single-game high six steals. Oklahoma City was led by Viola Beybeyah's 18-point, eight-rebound effort. The Stars' second-round exit marks their earliest exit from the tournament since a 1998 second-round defeat to Campbellsville (Ky.).

In game three of the day, third-seeded Cumberland University (Tenn.) earned entry into its first-ever quarterfinal appearance with an 86-83 victory over second-seeded Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho). Katya Yancheva sank two free throws with 36 seconds to play, giving Lewis-Clark State its final lead at 83-82. C'Kala Humes answered with two free throws to return the lead to Cumberland with 18 seconds left, and Ashley Cross capitalized on two more free throws with 10 seconds remaining to provide the final margin. Five players scored in double figures for Cumberland, led by Humes' 17 points, 11 of which came from free throws. Ashley Baker and Janeen Nelson each scored 24 points to pace Lewis-Clark State.

In the final game of the morning session, fifth-seeded Langston University (Okla.) continued its successful run into the quarterfinal round with a 60-40 victory over eighth-seeded Brescia University (Ky.). Langston used an 11-2 run to close out the first half and take a 30-20 advantage at halftime, then posted an identical 30-20 margin while maintaining a double-digit lead throughout the entire second half. Matalya McBath-Belvin recorded a double-double, scoring 16 points to go with 12 rebounds, and Jamie Skinner scored a game-high 17 points to go with eight rebounds to lead Langston. Andrea Self and Paula Carver finished with 10 points apiece to lead Brescia, and Self grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

Sixth-seeded Houston Baptist University (Texas) posted its second straight victory over a higher-seeded team, defeating second-seeded Lubbock Christian (Texas) 82-73 in the fifth game. A year ago, it was Lubbock Christian that eliminated Houston Baptist from the tournament, also in the second round, but Houston Baptist put together an extended run over the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half in which it outscored Lubbock Christian 40-21. Dominique Thomas finished with 23 points, six assists and five steals for Houston Baptist, while Lubbock Christian's Jordan Hampton was 13-of-16 from the field, including four-of-five on three-pointers, in a 30-point effort, the highest single-game scoring total so far in this year's tournament.

First-seeded and two-time defending NAIA champion Union University (Tenn.) advanced to the quarterfinals with an 87-61 victory over fifth-seeded Oklahoma Christian University in the second round of the 27th Annual NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship at Oman Arena. Oklahoma Christian led on four separate occasions in the game's first ten minutes, but a 10-point run gave Union a 36-26 lead at halftime. After Oklahoma Christian cut the lead to seven points at 41-34 on a Rachel Martin three-pointer with 18:40 to play in the game, Union answered with a 12-2 run and led by at least 13 points the rest of the way. Kaitlin Dudley led all scorers with 22 points off the bench, and Rachel Martin led Oklahoma Christian with 19 points and six rebounds.

In the seventh game, fifth-seeded Lambuth University (Tenn.) advanced to its first-ever quarterfinals after bringing down the second number one seed of the tournament in a 77-61 win over Saint Xavier University (Ill.). Saint Xavier completely erased a 15-point first-half deficit and twice took one-point leads midway through the second half, but Dee Preyer returned the lead to Lambuth for good with a pair of free throws after the Eagles grabbed offensive rebounds on two missed three-pointers with 9:17 to play. That was the start of a 25-6 run that gave Lambuth a commanding 77-59 lead with just 1:39 remaining in the game. Meghan Fuqua scored 16 of her game-high 26 points in the first half, helping Lambuth to a 40-28 halftime lead, and Saint Xavier was led by Candis Jackson's 17 points.

Third-seeded Southern Nazarene University (Okla.) will appear in the quarterfinals for a 14th time after posting an 80-63 victory over Westminster College (Utah), completing the second round of play. Southern Nazarene went on an 18-3 run midway through the first half en route to a 38-28 halftime advantage, but Westminster responded with a 13-2 run out of the halftime break for a 41-40 lead less than three and a half minutes into the second half. After the lead changed hands four more times, Southern Nazarene regained the lead for good on two of Khady Ngom's 23 second-half points that sparked an 8-0 run. Ngom tied the tournament's single-game scoring high with a total of 30 points, and Lashelle Chandler added 20 points, nailing five-of-seven three-point attempts. Shannon Evans led the way for Westminster with 16 points, and Alicia Haberle scored all 15 of her points from three-point range, sinking five-of-eight from long distance. Elisa Leader added 14 points, including four three-pointers, as the Griffins shot 50 percent (13-for-26) from long range.