WINONA LAKE, IND. –  The Roberts Wesleyan College women's basketball team isn't coming home any time soon.
Spurred by a 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter, the Redhawks raced past host Grace College for a 67-59 victory in the Midwest Region Final of the National Christian College Athletic Association basketball tournament on Saturday.
"It was a great team win," Roberts coach
Kevin Clifford said. "We finished the game strong and I like the way that we competed."
The victory earns the Redhawks a berth in the NCCAA Division I Tournament which begins Wednesday in Winona Lake, Ind. Roberts is the No. 8 seed and will play No. 1 College of the Ozarks at 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday.
Roberts (15-12) trailed 52-48 after three quarters before
Danielle DiCintio,
Taryn Wilson and
Georgia Haverlock connected from long range in the first 4:20 of the final quarter. Wilson's 3-pointer with 5:40 to play gave Roberts a lead it did not relinquish.
Roberts turned up the intensityand outscored Grace 19-7 in the fourth quarter, limiting the Lancers to 3 of 16 shooting (18.8%) from the floor.
"We contested shots and we got stops,"Clifford said.
Haverlock scored 19 points to lead Roberts, which jumped to a quick 13-4 lead. DiCintio added 14 points and six assists and Wilson finished with 11 for Roberts.
Sophomore
Toni Neely-Primus scored seven of her nine points in the final 4:20 and led Roberts with eight rebounds. Senior center
Dimitra Gkizani added eight points and seven rebounds.
Roberts made 9 of 20 three-point attempts and battled to a 39-39 draw with Grace on the boards.
"The words of the day were 'have fun,'" Clifford said. "I thought that we played hard and we played with passion."
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