The Lady Raiders advanced to the NCCAA Final Four as they defeated Grace College 67-60 in overtime last night.
After a slow first half offensively for both the Lady Raiders and Grace College both teams got things going in the second half. The second half started 19-19 as both teams shot 25% from the field in the first half. Both teams battled back and forth as the host, Grace College, opened a five point lead with 16 minutes to play. A jumper by senior Tiffany Wilson cut the lead to 3 followed by a jumper by Bianca Jones cut the lead to one. The Raiders tied the game at 32-32 on a made free throw by senior Brittany McMillon. Grace College then went on to open a seven point lead with under 10 minutes to play. The Raiders would not give up and went on a 9-2 run over the next five minutes to tie the score at 44-44. Senior Tiffany Wilson had a chance to win the game in regulation but saw her shot rattle out with 19 seconds to play. The host school would have one more chance but Grace's Autumn Heflin shot came up short and the game would head to overtime with the score tied at 52-52.
Grace College opened the scoring in overtime but the Raiders were up to the challenge. Grace opened a 60-57 lead with 3:31 to play on a three pointer by Kate Ball. However, that would be the last time Grace would score as the Lady Raiders bunkered down on a defense and closed the game on a 10-0 run to win 67-60.
Senior Brittany McMillon recorded a double-double finishing with 18 points and a game high 16 rebounds. Junior Bianca Jones had a monster night for the Raiders as well finishing with a game high 22 points on 10-15 shooting from the floor. Jones also finished with 9 rebounds. Tiffany Wilson contributed 9 points and six assists.
"This was such a great college basketball game," said Coach Bob Segave. "Both teams played so hard. I am very proud of our team. We continued to battle back each time Grace would seem to take command. We had a refuse to lose attitude. Our post players really went to work on the glass and in the paint. Bianca (Jones) had her best game of the season, and Brittany (McMillon) was her amazing self. When she hit the 3 pointer in overtime I had a feeling we were going to win. Katie Lowell kept us in the game in the first half, and our bench was huge the entire game. Tiffany (Wilson) really keyed our defensive pressure and always got us into our offense. Even with overtime, we only had 7 turnovers for the entire game."
The Raiders will now play Southwestern Assemblies of God (TX) at 7:00pm for the chance to play for the National Championship.
