Top Three Seeds Advance in Women's Basketball Tournament
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - (TOURNAMENT PAGE) - Three of the top four seeds survived the opening round of the 2023 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Women's Basketball Tournament.
Top-seeded and defending champion Indiana Tech posted an 85-52 win against No. 8 Lourdes to open the night. Fifth-seeded Cornerstone posted the lone upset as the Golden Eagles edged No. 4 Concordia 78-76 in the night cap and advanced to their first semifinals since 2018 when they won it all. Third-seeded Rochester outlasted No. 6 Lawrence Tech 77-67 while No. Siena Heights needed two overtimes and 47 points from Peyton Banks to defeat seventh-seeded UNOH.
Cornerstone now travels to Indiana Tech for a 5:30 p.m. rematch of the 2018 championship game while Siena Heights hosts Rochester at 5 p.m. in a rematch of last year's semifinals. Semifinal games are set for Saturday, Feb. 24.
#1 Indiana Tech (25-4) def. #8 Lourdes (9-20), 85-52
Back-and-forth play in the first quarter warranted just a two-point advantage for Indiana Tech at 18-16 before the Warriors exploded in the second. Tech went on a 16-point run sparked by Erika Foy while holding the Gray Wolves scoreless for six minutes and eventually took a 20-point lead into the half. Lourdes bounced back in the final two quarters, putting up 32 points thanks to 13 from Macie Stringfellow, but the Warriors sank 45 of their own points for the win and had four players in double figures. Lourdes ends its season at 9-20 overall while Indiana Tech advances to host a semifinal game with a 25-4 record.
Stat Leaders
Points: Genevieve Decker (IT) 21; Macie Stringfellow (LU) 21
Rebounds: Erika Foy (IT) 7; Emma Pedroza (LU) 5
Assists: Taylor Covington (IT) 8; Emma Pedroza, Nadeen Jemaa (LU) 2
#5 Cornerstone (15-13) def. #4 Concordia (17-12), 78-76
It went down to the wire for the final spot in the WHAC semifinals as Cornerstone pulled the lone upset of the night. Concordia took the early lead, leading by four at the half, Cornerstone tied it at 54 by the end of three. Concordia scored the first two points of the final period and the teams traded baskets until Jaxi Long stole the ball for a layup at the 7:50 mark and Stephanie Ainsworth scored a minute later to put Cornerstone up by six. The Cardinals chipped away at the lead and pulled to within one ath 66-65 with just over four minutes left.
CU got a quick bucket from Olivia Kubik before both teams missed key shots. With the lead still three for Cornerstone, Emily McCalla hit a pair of free throws to pull Concordia to within one at 72-71 with 36 seconds remaining. The Cardinals were forced to foul and Kennedy Helderop hit both from the charity stripe to psu CU back up 74-71. Izzy Hadley then went two-for-two at the line to put Concordia within one at 74-73. Cornerstone hit three of their six free throws to seal the win. Concordia finished at 17-12 and Cornerstone improved to 15-13 to advance to its first semifinal appearance since 2018 when the Golden Eagles won the tournament.
Stat Leaders
Points: Taylor Leatherman 19 (CUAA); Maddison Fulks (CU) 16
Rebounds: Kennedy Helderop (CU) 9; Taylor Leatherman (CUAA) 8
Assists: Kennedy Helderop (CU) 10; Zaria Mitchner (CUAA) 5
#3 Rochester (19-10) def. #6 Lawrence Tech (12-17), 77-67
Rochester jumped to a 25-16 lead at the end of one thanks to an early 8-2 run, but Lawrence Tech battled back in the second to pull to within three at the half (38-35) behind Kendall Fisher's nine points. Rochester opened the third quarter with a 9-0 run with back-to-back buckets by Krystal Rice while holding LTU scoreless until the 7:26 mark for a 47-36 lead. LTU got 12 points from Fisher during the next four and a half minutes to pull to within four points at 56-51 before RU closed out the quarter with layup for a six-point lead. Rice opened the fourth to spark a 9-0 run for RU and the Warriors never looked back. LTU ends its season at 12-17 while Rochester improves to 19-10 with a spot in the semfinals.
Stat Leaders
Points: Kendall Fisher (LTU) 29; Cianna Gloster (RU) 19
Rebounds: Cianna Gloster (RU) 11; Jade Farris, Gabby Gough (LTU) 7
Assists: Elysia Mattos (RU) 5; Kendall Fisher (LTU) 4
#2 Siena Heights (24-5) def #7 UNOH (13-16), 93-83 (2OT)
UNOH shocked the Saints with a 35-29 lead heading into the half only to see SHU pull to within one at the end of the third. The Saints took the lead at the 7:20 mark on a layup by E'anna Won. After trading buckets, UNOH's Jada Haines made back-to-back buckets in less than a minute to tie the game with 13 ticks remaining. After a timeout, Ana Montero Sanz stole the inbounds pass from Siena Heights and was fouled on her layup attempt. She it both free throws to give UNOH a two-point lead with nine seconds remaining.
After another SHU time out, Kayla Hinton made a layup in the paint to send the game into overtime. Peyton Banks opened the extra period with a three and SHU pushed the lead to six. UNOH battled back and Montero Sanz tied the score at 77 with three seconds on the clock to force double overtime. Siena Heights scored the first nine points of the second overtime and held on for the win.
Stat Leaders
Points: Peyton Banks (SHU) 47; Jada Haines (UNOH) 27
Rebounds: Peyton Banks (SHU) 19; Mar Marata Crespo (UNOH) 18
Assists: Sha'kyia Parker, Allye Minor, E'Anna Won (SHU) 4; Anna Montero Sanz (UNOH) 4