Women's Basketball Beats Shawnee State for Chance at Title Game
OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Brescia University women’s basketball team defeated #2 Shawnee State at home, 82-61, to advance to the River States Conference Championship game. With the win against the Bears, the Bearcats also earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament after an 18-year drought.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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8 | 13 | 25 | 15 | 61 |
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13 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 82 |
Team Stats
#2 Shawnee State
| Game Statistics | #2 Shawnee State | #1 Brescia |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (21-67) | (23-47) |
| Field Goal % | 31.3% | 48.9% |
| Rebounds | 31 | 42 |
| Assists | 6 | 15 |
| Turnovers | 16 | 22 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 13 | 30 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 12 | 17 |
| Pts in the Paint | 28 | 34 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 4 | 10 |
| Bench Pts | 13 | 23 |
OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Brescia University women's basketball team defeated #2 Shawnee State at home, 82-61, to advance to the River States Conference Championship game. With the win against the Bears, the Bearcats also earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament after an 18-year drought.
Both teams showed their nerves early in the first quarter as they struggled with turnovers and bad shot-making. The Bears settled down as they took the lead on free throws. Hailee Johnson came off the bench at the three-minute mark scoring the next six points for BU. The opening quarter ended with most of BU's points accumulated at the charity stripe. The Bearcats continued to surge forward, putting up 22 points in the second quarter led by Caroline Lucas and Shelbie Beatty. BU maintained their lockdown defense as they held the Bears to just 21 points on 23% shooting from the floor.
Kassady London extended the 14-point lead with a three on the Bearcat's first possession out of the break. BU forced a Shawnee State timeout after the Bear's defense couldn't stop the 11-2 run from the Bearcats. Despite the lead, Shawnee State slowly chipped away as they kept the Bearcats scoreless from the field as they cut the lead to 12. SSU began to get aggressive on the defensive side as majority of the Bearcat's fourth quarter points came at the line. Another long ball from London extended the BU led to 19 with four minutes to go. The largest lead of the day was 25 with a minute to go as Brescia secured the win at home to head to the RSC title game.
Four Bearcats ended in double digits points in the victory: Caroline Lucas led with 15, Brooklyn Stewart with 14, Kassady London with 13 and Hailee Johnson with 12. BU outrebounded the Bears 42-31 and turned 16 SSU turnovers into 30 points in the win.
The Lady Bearcats will travel to Rio Grande, OH to take on Rio Grande, the #8 team in the nation, for the conference tournament title. The final matchup will tipoff Tuesday, Mar. 3 at 6pm.