SIOUX CITY, Iowa -
(
Box Score)
Indiana Wesleyan forced College of the Ozarks (Mo.) into ice-cold
shooting and took advantage of 15 turnovers en route to a 68-50
quarterfinal victory Saturday at the 19th Annual State Farm-NAIA
Division II Women's Basketball National Championship at the Tyson
Events Center/Gateway Arena.
With the win, Indiana Wesleyan
(29-6) earns a spot in Monday's semifinals with a date against Shawnee
State (Ohio) at 6 p.m. It will be the second national championship
meeting between the two teams, as the Wildcats defeated Shawnee State
in the first round in 2004.
Ozarks' 29-5 season comes to an end in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
The meeting between Ozarks and Indiana Wesleyan was the third since
2007. Both teams have previously been responsible for knocking the
other out. Indiana Wesleyan won the national title over Ozarks in 2007
and Ozarks avenged the loss in 2009 with a second-round win over the
Wildcats.
The first half was a see-saw battle with neither
team holding more than a four-point lead until an Elaine Hessel bucket
at 1:37 gave the Wildcats a six-point advantage. Heading into the
break, Indiana Wesleyan was up by two (23-21) and was led by Hessel's
14 first-half points.
Indiana Wesleyan came out of the
locker room on a 7-0 run courtesy of jumpers by Lindsey Waggoner and
Rachel Steinbarger, followed by a 3-pointer from Kayla Thompson to go
up 30-21. The Wildcats' lead grew to as many as 18 behind 14-of-23
shooting good for a 60.9 field goal percentage and a 60 percent clip
from behind the 3-point line. Indiana Wesleyan was clutch from the
free-throw line by hitting 16-of-19 tries. In the second stanza, the
Wildcats outscored Ozarks 45-29.
After posting a blazing
58.3 percent from 3-point land the night before, Ozarks could not
connect on any of its seven attempts from downtown. The Bobcats were a
mere 16-of-45 from the floor for just a 35.6 field goal percentage with
only four players who logged minutes turning in points. Turnovers were
also a problem for Ozarks with 15 giveaways that resulted in 11 points
for the Wildcats.
Hessel was the game's leading scorer with 23
points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a pair of 3s and Steinbarger
added 16 points to lead Indiana Wesleyan's charge. The Wildcats
finished the game shooting 44 percent from both the floor and long
range.
Emily Bell's career as a Bobcat came to a close with a
19-point outing on 6-of-12 tries. She was joined in double figures by
Tara LaRue's 12 and Morgan Smith's 11 points. Ozarks outscored Indiana
Wesleyan down low with 26 points in the paint.