Lawrence Reporter

CAC Women's Basketball Semifinals Recap

Eight or fewer points were the margins of victory in three of the four quarterfinal games during Friday's Continental Athletic Conference women's basketball championship tournament being hosted by Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas.

Top seed and defending tournament champion Iowa Wesleyan University scored the biggest triumph, defeating No. 8 Bacone College (Oklahoma) 99-30.

Meanwhile, No. 2 seed Haskell Indian Nations edged past No. 7 seed Northern New Mexico College 66-58; No. 3 seed Washington Adventist University (Maryland) defeated No. 6 seed Florida National University 71-64; and No. 5 seed Arkansas Baptist College picked up a 65-58 victory against No. 4 seed Crowley's Ridge College (Arkansas).

Friday's winners advance to the semifinal round on Saturday, February 25.

Quarterfinal No. 1 – No. 3 Washington Adventist University 71, No. 6 Florida National University 64

Washington Adventist outscored Florida National by seven points during the fourth quarter to win by the final seven-point 71-64 margin.

The Conquistadors jumped out a 26-18 first-quarter lead and the No. 6 seed maintained the advantage, 38-31, behind 16-for-28 shooting (57%).

However, the Shock started their rally with a 19-point third quarter to tie the contest at 50-50. Sarah Shamdeen scored seven of her team-leading 17 points in the third quarter to lead the charge. WAU also made all three of its 3-point field goal attempts in the 10-minute period.

The Shock took advantage of 10 personal fouls being assessed against Florida National in the final quarter to make 14 of 18 free throw attempts to outscore the Conquistadors 21-14 and capture the victory.

Shamdeen, a first-team all-conference performer, led the Shock with 17 points and made all eight of her free throw attempts. Jahnaya Peterson chipped in 13 points while Shelby Ricks and Serenity Turnbull each contributed nine and eight points, respectively, off the bench.

Florida National was paced by Janelisse Marty Marrero with 27 points behind six 3-point field goals and Natalie Larranaga, the 2022-23 CAC Defensive Player of the Year, recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Quarterfinal No. 2 – No. 1 Iowa Wesleyan University 99, No. 8 Bacone College 30

Top-seeded Iowa Wesleyan scored 31 first-quarter points and did not look back in advancing to the semifinal round, defeating Bacone decisively 99-30. The Tigers shot 54.7% from the floor and had four double-figure scorers.

Isabell West, the 2022-23 CAC Player of the Year, led the way for the team with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Breanna Wendland also recorded a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Kyla Moore, a first-team all-conference player, scored 16 points. That was matched by Megan Teal with 16 points off the bench.

Bacone's Malia Jacobs scored a team-high nine points in the contest.

Quarterfinal No. 3 – No. 5 Arkansas Baptist College 65, No. 4 Crowley's Ridge College 58

A strong second-half performance paved the way for Arkansas Baptist to defeat Crowley's Ridge 65-58 in the Buffaloes' CAC postseason debut.

The team made seven of its 17 shots (41.2%) during the third quarter to turn a 22-22 deadlock into a 43-35 advantage. A 22-point fourth quarter sealed the victory.

Arkansas Baptist held the Pioneers to just 3-of-16 shooting (18.8%) from behind the 3-point circle and 33.9% for all field goals for the contest.

Jessica Nerestant scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed 11 of her 14 rebounds on defense. Celebria Peacock contributed 12 points and Anna Kassim chipped in 11 points to round out the double-figure scorers in the victory.

Crowley's Ridge led 10-7 after the opening quarter but was outrebounded by a 43-25 margin in the contest. Lindsey Browning led the team with 16 points while Travia Woodruff had 13 points and Brinley Morgan added 10 points for the Pioneers.

Quarterfinal No. 4 – No. 2 Haskell Indian Nations University 66, No. 7 Northern New Mexico College 58

Tournament-host Haskell Indian Nations rallied to defeat Northern New Mexico 66-58 behind a 27-point fourth quarter. The Fightin' Indians shot 50% during the final 10 minutes of the game to overcome a 43-39 deficit.

Northern New Mexico jumped out an 11-7 lead after the first quarter and both teams scored 17 and 15 points across the second and third quarters to maintain the four-point difference.

Miracle Spotted Bear connected on four 3-point field goals as part of a 17-point scoring performance for Haskell Indian Nations. Marilyn Goodman led the team with 18 points behind eight field goals.

Northern New Mexico was led by Ruth Sodipe with 15 points while Ethena Silva and Briana Marquez each scored 14 points.

Original source can be found here.