Women's Basketball Semifinals Conclude

ADRIAN, Mich. - (TOURNAMENT PAGE) - The second semifinal game of the 2023 WHAC Women's Basketball Tournament finally finished more than 24 hours after it was originally scheduled. After a power outage on the campus of Siena Heights caused Saturday's game to be postponed, third-seeded Rochester and second-seeded SHU resumed the game on Sunday afternoon where Rochester came away with a 93-83 victory in double overtime.

Top-seeded Indiana Tech eliminated No. 5 Cornerstone 87-63 on Saturday and will now host Rochester in the title game on Monday, Feb. 27. Both teams have now qualified for the NAIA Women's Basketball Opening Round. Indiana Tech received the WHAC's first automatic berth as regular-season champions and Rochester gets the second berth by playing in the tournament championship.

#3 Rochester (20-10) def. #2 Siena Heights (24-6), 93-83
With a 64-64 tied ball game with 47 clicks left on the clock, SHU's E'anna Won made a huge block and teammate Brooke Rebman scooped up the ball to set Siena Heights up a last-second shot. A steal by Imari Martin, who just entered the game, after a timeout gave Rochester that very same opportunity but a missed jumper sent the game into overtime. Five minutes later and a second overtime was needed after the teams played to a
74-74 tie. Celeste Mershimer opened the extra period with an old-fashioned three-point play when she was fouled on a layup. She went on to score 12 points in the five-minute period and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe as Rochester never trailed again.
Stat Leaders
Points: Celeste Mershimer 29 (RU); Peyton Banks 29 (SHU)
Rebounds: Elysia Mattos 14 (RU); E'Anna Won, Peyton Banks 8 (SHU)
Assists: Elysia Mattos 8 (RU); Kayla Hinton 5 (SHU)

#1 Indiana Tech (26-4) def. #5 Cornerstone (15-14), 87-63
Tech jumped to an early 10-5 lead at the 6:01 mark in the first before going on a 13-0 run. After six minutes of not finding the net, Maddison Fulks hit a jumper for Cornerstone with one second left in the period. Bethany Worm opened the second period with a three for Indiana Tech and the Warriors had their largest lead of the game until Taylor Covington's basket at the 4:15 mark pushed the lead to 18 and IT led 41-20 by the break. The final two periods saw much of the same with the Warriors building on their lead and Cornerstone battling to keep it contained.
Stat Leaders
Points: Erika Foy 20 (IT); Stephanie Ainsworth 18 (CU)
Rebounds: Erika Foy 13 (IT); Kennedy Helderop 10 (CU)
Assists: Taylor Covington 6 (IT); Kennedy Helderop 7 (CU)