WICHITA, Kan. (SCWarriors.com) – Sterling College women’s basketball pulled off the upset against Friends University in Wichita, Kan. on March 4 to win the KCAC Tournament Championship. This overtime thriller was a back-and-forth contest, but in the final five minutes of play, the Lady Warriors were able to hold the Falcons scoreless to gain the 86-76 victory.
The Lady Warriors were the first to score off of a pair of free throws from Korynn Clason, Friends quickly answered back with a field goal of their own off of a layup from Lauren McIver. That seemed to be the theme of the game as Sterling and Friends went back and forth throughout the entire game with 22 lead changes and 15 ties in the 45 minutes of play.
After the first quarter Sterling held a slim 17-16 lead which the Falcons flipped by the half, giving themselves a 36-35 edge. The Lady Warriors kept their cool and used their pressure defense to create 21 turnovers, which amounted to 29 points for Sterling.
Kali Briar hit a big three as time expired in the third quarter, to help the Warriors regain a slim 55-52 lead. Still feeling hot, she opened the fourth quarter with another three pointer to get things going for Sterling.
However, Friends hung around and was able to take a four-point lead with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. However, clutch free throws from Alissa Heskamp and a Karlee Jacobs knotted the game back up at 76 at the end of regulation.
After that it was all Sterling. The Lady Warriors won the tip and everything else in overtime. Alex Bearup got Sterling started with an easy bucket 10 seconds into play, Clason capitalized on back-to-back jumpers to extend the lead and Jacobs polished it off with another pair of free throws to keep the game well in hand.
The Lady Warriors shared the scoring responsibility evenly throughout the game with four athletes in double figures. Clason led with 17, while Briar and Heskamp each had 16 and Jacobs contributed 11.
Heskamp, Bearup and Kayla Morris each led Sterling in rebounding with six and Briar contributed a game high six assists. Jacobs got it done defensively for the Warriors with 4 steals while Bearup protected the rim with three blocks.
With the win, Sterling College will advance to the NAIA Tournament with the opening round to begin on Friday, March 14. The final 64-team field and bracket will be announced on Thursday, March 6 at 6 p.m.
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