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03.02.09
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There was a lot riding on the game and it took nearly the full 40
minutes to determine a winner. After seven ties and 14 lead
changes, it was NAIA Division II 16th-ranked Huntington
University who earned the hard-fought 65-60 victory over 25th-ranked
Taylor University to claim the program’s first
Mid-Central
Conference Tournament title in 15 years.
The Foresters trailed most of the second half, but finally took the
lead for good on a 3-pointer from Jenna Donaldson that put them up
49-47 with 8:30 to play. Donaldson’s trey also ignited a 9-1 run to
give HU its largest lead of the game at 55-48 at the 4:11 mark.
Taylor battled back within one at 57-56 with two minutes to go, but
Courtney Beerbower banked in a five-footer over Trojan center
Bethany Ballard to give the Foresters a 59-56 lead. Taylor turned
the ball over on its next possession and Lauren Davenport knocked
down a jumper from the right corner to make it 61-56 with 1:09 on
the clock.
Ballard scored on a driving layup for the Trojans and then Taylor
fouled Donaldson with 44.5 ticks left. Donaldson calmly drained
both charity tosses to extend HU’s lead back to five. Following a
timeout, the Trojans got the ball back in Ballard’s hands and she
drew the foul on a drive to the hoop. She knocked down both free
throws to pull Taylor within three at 63-60 with 37.8 seconds to
go. The Foresters inbounded the ball and kept it in the backcourt
to try to use as much clock as possible. With 10 seconds on the
shot clock, Donaldson began to bring the ball across halfcourt and
was fouled on the drive with 10.9 seconds left. Following a Trojan
timeout, Donaldson again found the bottom of the net on both
attempts. Taylor’s Paige Rudolph took a desperation three at the
other end and Beerbower grabbed the rebound and dribbled out the
clock for the win.
The first half was a defensive battle as both teams tried to
overcome nerves. The Foresters took the early 5-0 lead, but Taylor
went on top at 8-7 and the seesaw affair commenced. Following three
ties and seven lead changes, the score stood at 16-16 with 4:35 to
go in the half. The Trojans then strung together seven consecutive
points forcing HU to call a timeout at the 2:15 mark. Ryleigh Carr
ended Taylor’s streak with a nice turnaround jumper in the paint and
Davenport stole a lazy Trojan pass and converted a layup to cut the
deficit to three. The Forester got another defensive stop and Carr
was fouled as she drove to the hole. She sank both free throws to
pull HU within 23-22, but Ballard got loose underneath for a layup
for the Trojans at the other end. The Foresters got the ball back
with 27 seconds left and played for the final shot. HU worked the
ball around and Carr threw a skip pass to Sarah Miller who drilled
the longball to knot the score at 25-25 at the break.
Donaldson topped all scorers in the game with 21 points for the
Foresters, 19 of which came in the second half. Miller and
Beerbower both chipped in 12 points. Davenport, HU’s lone senior
playing at the Merillat Complex for the final time, scored eight
points, dished out six assists and had four steals. Ballard paced
the Trojans with 19 points. Nellie Eskew finished with 14 and
Allison Reece had 12.
With the
win, the Foresters earned an automatic berth in the NAIA National
Tournament which will be held in Sioux City, Iowa March 11-17.
The pairings for the 32-team tournament will be released on
Wednesday evening, March 4.
Box Score |
