March 19, 2008

JACKSON, Tenn. - Fourth-seeded The Master's (Calif.) College came back from a 23-point second-half deficit for a 99-95 victory over fifth-seeded Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) University in a first-round game at the 28^th Annual NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship.

 

Olivet Nazarene's junior guard Courtney Hehn broke a 17-year old tournament record for three-point attempts in a game, knocking down eight of 19 from long range for a team-high 24 points. The previous record of 18 was set in 1991 by Minnesota-Duluth's Kelli Ritzer.

 

Olivet Nazarene never trailed in the opening half and took a 58-40 halftime lead, then took their largest lead of the game at 67-44 with 16:49 remaining. The Master's scored eight straight points in less than two minutes, cutting the lead to 67-52 with 15 minutes to play, but the Tigers extended their lead back to 20 points at 81-61 with senior guard Hilary Disch's field goal with 10:44 left.

 

The Master's sophomore guard Tana Palmason scored her only points of the game on a putback with 10:14 left, sparking a 17-0 run that pulled the Mustangs to within three points at 81-78 with 6:06 remaining in the game. Olivet Nazarene answered with a putback, a steal and a three-pointer from senior guard Codi Jaeger to increase the lead to 86-78 with 4:43 to play, and the Tigers still led by seven points, 93-86, with just over three minutes left.

 

After back-to-back baskets, The Master's pulled to within a point on a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Annie Gillespie, whose three-pointer with 1:21 to play gave the Mustangs their first lead of the game, part of an 11-0 run that gave them a 97-93 lead with 10 seconds remaining.

 

The Master's scored 70 of its 99 points in the paint, with junior forward Stacy Nanninga scoring a game-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field, all from two-point range. She also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for the double-double, while Gillespie added 20 points and eight rebounds, sinking six-of-seven field goal attempts. The Mustangs posted a 57-42 rebounding advantage and shot at a 52 percent clip (38-for-73) clip from the field.

 

Disch added 22 points for the Tigers, and she and Hehn were joined in double figures by senior forward Maggie Sillar, who registered 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The Tigers shot 46 three-pointers, at a 26 percent clip (12-for-46).

 

The Master's improves to 21-11 on the season, while Olivet Nazarene finishes the year at 24-7 overall. The Mustangs move on to the second round for the third time in the past four years, where they will take on the Union (Tenn.)/Science & Arts (Okla.) winner on Friday at 8 p.m.