Women's Basketball | 3/12/2019 3:30:00 PM
SIOUX CITY, Iowa—There will be a first-time women's basketball national champion tonight at the Tyson Events Center.
Southeastern (31-2) meets Concordia (Neb.) (34-3) with the winner hoisting the NAIA Championship trophy for the first time in program history.
Forty minutes wasn't enough to decide the semifinal game between Southeastern and defending champion Dakota Wesleyan. Despite jumping out to a nine-point first quarter advantage, the Fire had to sweat out a couple of buzzer-beaters and come up with some huge defensive plays to come away with a 78-75 double overtime victory.
Makenzie Cann had two steals and a block in the final 90 seconds of the second overtime period in front of over 1,800 mostly blue-clad fans to help the Fire play for its first title in program history.
The stifling defense, paired with incredibly balanced scoring has the Fire in a rematch with Concordia, which is responsible for half of its losses this season.
When the two teams faced off in Phoenix in December, the Fire made just four of their first 26 shots, and were held to two points in the second quarter in a 59-51 loss. That was the fewest points scored by the team under
Tim Hays.
Drew Olson's squad avenged its most recent loss last night by defeating GPAC rival Northwestern 82-79. Despite the Red Raiders shooting 60% from the field and 60% from 3-point range in the second half, the 23 turnovers, including one on the final possession led to their undoing.
Concordia was led by Pilly Lammers with 28 points and 13 rebounds. Lammers had 17 points and 10 rebounds against the Fire back in December. She's averaging 17 points per game in the tournament this week.
Marlena Schmidt has put on a show in the low post this week, averaging 14.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in the tournament. She also has nine blocks, a pair of steals, and has dished out five assists. At 71% from the field, she's second in the tournament in field goal percentage.
Five different Fire players are averaging double figures this postseason.
Even without the outside shots falling at the rate they did in the regular season, the Fire have been successful, mostly on the heels of their defense. Opponents have shot just 34.6% against the Fire this tournament, battling the length SEU has at the top of its zone defense.
The game will be streamed nationally on ESPN3, and will be shown on campus in the Buena Vida auditorium. Tip-off is at 8:05 p.m. Eastern.
