STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Nikki Preston sank two pressure free throws with four seconds left, completing an Illinois Wesleyan comeback from 23 points down that gave the Titans a 61-60 win over George Fox in the "Elite 8" round of the Division III Women's Basketball NCAA Tournament on Saturday night here at Berg Gym.
The stunning loss ended the Bruins' winning streak at 14 and their season at 25-6. The Titans (27-4) advance to the "Final Four" on their home court in Bloomington, Ill., on March 18-19, to face the Washington University-St. Louis Bears (24-5), who defeated the University of Chicago 63-58, in one semifinal game. Joining them will be Amherst College (30-1), which has been to the "Final Four" each of the last two years, matched up against Christopher Newport (29-3). Amherst defeated the only remaining unbeaten team in Division III, Babson, 68-49, while CNU downed Lebanon Valley 62-50. Game times and who will play first or second are still to be announced by the NCAA.
George Fox opened the game in lightning fashion with a 16-0 run in the game's first eight minutes, with six different players contributing to the outburst. Keisha Gordon hit a three to open the game and Hayley Cusick capped the rally with a layup. The Titans finally broke their scoreless drought with a jumper by Olivia Lett with 11:41 left in the half, but the Bruins went on an 11-2 run over the next seven minutes to make it a 23-point game at 27-4 following a Gordon layup with 5:04 to go.
The Titans finally found the range in the last five minutes of the period, out-scoring the Bruins 15-6 to close the gap to 33-21 at the intermission. A three-pointer by Preston and back-to-back treys by Melissa Gardner in the last 1:07 keyed the rally.
Hannah Munger scored the first basket of the second half and the Bruins kept a lead between 13 and 17 points over the first 10 minutes of the final period. Munger completed a three-point play to make it 51-35 with 10:17 left, but the Titans exploded for a 9-0 run to get back within single digits. A three by Gardner and a steal and layup by Hope Schulte turned it into a seven-point game at 51-44 with 8:32 to play.
Breezy Rinehart-Young hit a layup to end the IWU run at 8:19, but a free throw by Schulte and a three by Holly Harvey cut the Bruin lead to five at 53-48 with 6:46 remaining. After a swap of baskets, Cusick banked in a jumper, then made a steal and fed Carrie Myers for a layup to boost the Bruin lead back to 59-50 with 4:28 left.
From then on, the Bruins missed four shots, committed three turnovers against the Titans' full-court press, and made only one free throw, by Rinehart-Young with 3:08 left. IWU got baskets by Britt Hasselbring and Lett, then Preston took over, hitting a layup at 1:13, a three with 45 seconds left, and the two game-winning free throws. Cusick missed a desperation three-point try at the buzzer as the Bruins' season ended.
George Fox shot .511 (23-45) from the field, .706 (12-17) from the line, and out-rebounded IWU 35-28, but committed 24 turnovers that proved costly to only 15 by the Titans. Illinois Wesleyan shot .400 (24-60) from the floor, .600 (6-10) from the line, and made 7-26 three-pointers to only 2-7 for the Bruins.
Munger led all scorers with 19 points, becoming the George Fox single-season record holder for points with 502; the old mark was 485 by Keith Leith in 2004-05. Rinehart-Young and Cusick had nine points apiece, with Cusick passing out six assists and making three steals. Arianna Mohsenian also had three steals.
Preston and Gardner had 10 points each to pace the Titans, while Shelby Jackson had a team-high five rebounds. Schulte handed out six assists, and Lett made five steals.
NOTES: The Bruins will return home to Portland on Sunday morning, arriving at 11:09 a.m. on Delta Airlines #2163, for fans who wish to meet the team and congratulate them on another fine season.