MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Being the lowest seed in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament did not stop the Benedictine University women's basketball team from reaching the semifinals for a second consecutive year and a third time in four seasons.

FINAL SCORE
Benedictine 53, MSOE 49

THE DETAILS
• Benedictine led for most of the contest, building a double-digit advantage in the fourth quarter
• After falling behind 7-2, Benedictine used a 9-2 run to take the lead on a three-pointer from Payton Sims with 2:09 to play in the first quarter and did not trail again
• Briana Hamilton knocked down a jumper midway through the second quarter to push the lead to 23-18
• Two free throws from DeKayla Crayton pushed the advantage to nine points and a jumper in the closing moments from Alanna Ferry made the score 31-22 at the break
• MSOE chipped away in the second half, pulling within 33-31 following a three-pointer with 3:46 left in the third but D'Asia Williams buried a triple at the buzzer to make the score 40-32 headed to the final 10 minutes
• Raven Willis scored a layup in transition to make the score 42-32 early in the fourth
• MSOE completed a three-point play to tie the game at 44-44 with 3:04 remaining
• The game was even again at 46-46 with 1:49 left before Benedictine ripped off six consecutive points to pull away
• Jasma Williams opened the deciding run with a layup
• Benedictine led for over 30 minutes of the contest

FROM THE COACH
"We did a great job of executing the game plan tonight," head coach Charlie Averkamp said. "Any time you can win in the tournament is huge. We talked all through prep that we wanted to be able to practice on Wednesday and what is was going to take. MSOE is a very good team and I am extremely proud of how we played."

STAT LEADERS
• Benedictine overcame a difficult second half shooting percentage by playing strong defense
• Neither team shot above 33.3 percent with Benedictine opening at 40 percent but finishing the game at 32.7 percent
• Benedictine held a 39-36 advantage on the glass
• Crayton paced Benedictine with 16 points off the bench as the lone player to reach double figures
• Willis finished with nine points
• The bench scored 34 points for Benedictine

UP NEXT
Benedictine (16-10) advances to meet the second seed, Wisconsin Lutheran College, on the road Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. Wisconsin Lutheran has won five consecutive conference tournament titles, ending the season for Benedictine in four of those years.