COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - After a cold shooting first half, the No. 3 seeded Southwestern University women's basketball team shot 17 of 29 (58.6%) from the field in the second half to storm back and defeat the No. 6 seeded Schreiner Mountaineers 69-57 on Friday evening at the SCAC Basketball Championships.
For Southwestern, it was their first tournament win since 2015, when they ran the table and won the SCAC Championship.
Southwestern finished 27 of 55 (49%) from the field including 4 of 9 (44%) from deep. Schreiner shot 22 of 53 (42%) from the field and 7 of 22 (32%) from deep. Southwestern dominated the boards, 35-30, and forced 19 Mountaineer turnovers including five steals from sophomore Zhazze Brown. The Southwestern bench outscored Schreiner's bench 24-2.
It was a great start for the Pirates as they scored six straight points to close the first quarter and lead 17-11. However, Southwestern ice cold in the second quarter as they were outscored 17-7 as a 12-0 Schreiner run to close the half resulted in a 28-24 lead at the break.
The Mountaineers maintained their lead and pushed it out to eight, 38-30, with over five to play in the third quarter. Southwestern charged back, going on a 14-6 run to tie the game thanks to a 3-pointer from senior Madison Edwards, a three point play by Z. Brown, and huge bench points from sophomore Naomi Brown.
Schreiner hit a 3-pointer to move back ahead 47-44, but freshman Noel Pratts and sophomore Cecily Woolfolk hit back-to-back jumpers to go ahead 48-47 going into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Southwestern run extended to a 13-0 run as Southwestern scored teh first nine points of the fourth quarter to take complete control of the game. In the blink of an eye, the game was suddenly in double figures and Schreiner never got as close as eight points as the Pirates pulled away for the 69-57 victory.
Naomi Brown paced the Pirates with 14 points off the bench while Woolfolk added 12 points, seven boards, five blocks, and two steals. Zhazze Brown added 12 points and five steals while a trio of players scored seven in Edwards, junior Kelsey Faykus, and senior Brooke Swift. Faykus pulled down seven boards and had three assists while Swift had four assists and three steals.
Schreiner was led by Jordyn Villa with 19 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals while Kendra Brown added 18 points and eight rebounds.
Southwestern moves to 13-13 and had won seven of their last nine games. They will take on the No. 2 seed and SCAC Co-Regular Season Champion Austin College. Tip-off is set for 8 PM with the winner earning a spot in the SCAC Championship Game.
