#7 LADY COUGARS WITHSTAND #9 WILDCATS’ RALLY TO CAPTURE 8TH MCC TOURNAMENT TITLE

The seventh-ranked University of Saint Francis women’s basketball team defeated No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan University 73-66 in the Mid-Central Conference Tournament Championship Game Monday night, February 27, at Hutzell Athletic Center, completing the regular-season and tourney title sweep. The win is the eighth MCC Tournament title in program history.

Cassie Reeder scored 20 points for the Lady Cougars (25-7), who won their sixth-straight game and 16th of their last 17 overall heading into next week’s NAIA Division II National Championships in Sioux City, Iowa.

“I am really happy with the win,” USF head coach Gary Andrews said. “To beat a team like Wesleyan three times is great. We did not play well early on in the year but we did not pout or mope. We stayed together and we will enjoy this one until next week.”

The visiting Wildcats (27-6) scored the game’s first three points and led again at 7-6 with 11:22 to play in the first half before USF went on a 23-9 run to take a 15-point lead at the 9:48 mark. Three-balls from Amanda Engleking, Nikki Lewis and Megan Dossen sparked the run which included an 11-0 spurt by the hosts. Chivonn Keppeler scored the first two field goals of the game for the Lady Cougars, but sat most of the remainder of the half in foul trouble.

IWU managed to trim the lead to eight at 40-32 in the final minute of the period, but a Reeder three-pointer as time expired put the Lady Cougars back up 11 heading into the locker room. USF hit 16-of-28 (.571) attempts from the floor in the first half — including 5-of-10 long-range shots.

“We knew it would be a fight to the end, that they wouldn’t give up that easily,” Lewis said after scoring 14 of her 19 points in the second half. “It feels awesome. Only Cassie knew what it feels like to beat them three times in a season.”

The defending MCC Tournament Champs did just that in the second half — defended like champs. The Wildcats limited USF to only 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the half and cut the Lady Cougar advantage to six at 50-44 with 13:35 on the clock before Reeder connected on another back-breaking trifecta late in a possession to regain some breathing room, albeit temporarily.

The Lady Cougar cushion hovered between seven and eight points for the next nine minutes before IWU mounted a final charge in the last 60 seconds. Brooke Amstutz scored five straight points to draw her Wildcats within four with 46 seconds to play, but a Lewis field goal and seven free throws sealed the championship for USF. Lewis scored nine points in the last 6:35 including a clutch 3-pointer to push the USF advantage to 63-54 with 4:34 to play.

“The last two possessions, my defender left me, so I think Amanda (Engleking) got me a skip pass, and I hit the open look,” Lewis said. “It felt good when I let it go.”

“The fans were awesome, they really made a difference for us down the stretch and helped us maintain our intensity and we wanted to give [the fans] what they deserved,” Reeder said. “It feels great to leave this court the same way I came in as a freshman as tournament champions. We wanted it for our fans, so many of the football players who supported us through the whole season.
“It came down to us wanting it more.”

Reeder hit 9-of-10 free throws and 3-of-8 from deep for her game-high 20 while Lewis hit 6-of-9 field goals — including both of her long-range attempts — and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe for 19 points. Reeder also grabbed a game-high eight boards and dished four assists. Dossen and Engleking finished with 10 apiece and Lindy Carey scored eight off the bench. Keppeler hit three field goals for six points in just 12 minutes before fouling out.

“What can I say, stuff happens,” Dossen said after fouling out with about 28 seconds to play. “I knew my teammates would finish what I helped get started. It feels great to go out with a win on the home floor.”

MCC Player-of-the-Year Liz Howerth scored a team-high 17 points for Indiana Wesleyan, but hit just 2-of-7 field-goal tries in the final 20 minutes. Katrina Spitler was perfect from the floor (4-4, 2-2 from three-point territory) and finished with 12 points for the Wildcats.

Both USF and IWU await the release of the national tournament pairings on Wednesday, March 1. The 15th Annual NAIA Division II National Championships take place March 8-14 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.