AMHERST, N.Y. – The Roberts Wesleyan women's basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament following a 77-73 double overtime win over No. 1 seeded Dominican College on Saturday night. The Redhawks are now matched up against East Coast Conference rival Daemen College in the finals of the East Region bracket with the winner of that game set to move on to the Elite Eight staged in Columbus, Ohio. Daemen is the No. 2 seed in the region while the Redhawks are the No. 5 seed.
Roberts is one of the hottest teams in the country currently, having now tallied nine straight wins and has not lost a game in a month. Roberts and Daemen faced off just a week ago for the ECC Championship game where the Redhawks came out on top 59-53 to capture its first ECC title in program history.
In Saturday's double overtime victory over Dominican the Redhawks were led by double-doubles from juniors
Dimitra Gkizani and
Taryn Wilson. Gkizani finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Athens, Greece native also added in two steals, a block and an assist. Wilson, who has hit key shots all tournament long scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. The guard also snagged four steals and dished out two assists. Senior standout
Paige McCormick nearly joined the double-double crew falling just one rebound shy. McCormick had 18 points and nine rebounds.
Despite hitting just one shot from the field on the night, one of the biggest shots of the day came from the hands of
Madison McCormick. The sophomore guard nailed a three-pointer early in the second overtime to give Roberts a two point lead and the momentum.
Wilson was the one to carry things home for the Redhawks and seal the momentous win for the team. Wilson scored the final six points of the game for Roberts. Her pair of successful free throws with 3:24 on the clock gave Roberts a 73-71 lead. Dominican answered with a layup by Jasmine Gee. On the next trip down the court Wilson pulled up from mid-range to hit a crucial shot putting Roberts up 75-73 with 1:26 remaining. The Chargers were unable to find the bottom of the net in the rest of overtime and Wilson was able to hit another pair of free throws to seal the win and send the Redhawks to the Sweet 16.
The East Region final is set for Monday, March 15 at 6 p.m. allowing the team a day of rest before the final game in the east region bracket.
