EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Senior Samantha Robison hit a runner in the lane with 2.6 seconds left as No. 8 seed Maryville (Mo.) upset top-seed Drury 56-55 in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Deaconess Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament at the Ford Center Thursday afternoon. The victory propels the Saints into the semifinals of the GLVC tournament Saturday.
With the Saints up by two and 19.4 seconds left to play, Drury's Sanayika Shields hit two free throws to forge a tie at 54-54. The Saints inbounded the ball but turned it over back to Drury and committed a foul. DU's Shelby White hit one free throw with 13.8 seconds remaining for a 55-54 lead but missed the second. Robison grabbed the rebound in traffic and dribbled up the right side of the court. She drove the lane and hit a runner for the game-winning basket with 2.6 ticks left. Drury inbounded the ball and a halfcourt shot hit the back of the rim and bounced away.
Robison and Shelby Miller led the Saints with 11 points apiece. Robison nearly recorded a double-double as she pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Alex Hillyer added 10 points and blocked two shots. Shields led Drury with 17 points who fell to 24-3. At No. 6, Drury is the highest-ranked team Maryville had ever defeated.
The Saints up their record to 19-11 as the Saints improved to 8-1 all-time in the GLVC tournament.
No. 1 Bentley 75, Assumption 59
WALTHAM, Mass. -- Senior All-America Lauren Battista made seven of 11 shots for 21 points and classmate Caleigh Crowell followed with 14 as undefeated Bentley, the number one-ranked team in the USA TODAY Sports/WBCA Division II poll, advanced to the Northeast-10 Conference championship game for the fourth consecutive year and 25th time overall with a 75-59 win against Assumption in a semifinal contest Thursday night at the Dana Center.
The Falcons, who captured the conference's regular season title in the Northeast Division, will carry a 28-0 record into Sunday's championship game against Adelphi. Bentley will be seeking its fourth NE-10 title in a row with tip-off at the Dana Center.
While they gave up 59 points, it was an impressive defensive effort for the Falcons, who had 12 steals, five blocks and three drawn charges. About half of Assumption's points came in the final minutes of each half after Bentley had established a significant lead.
No. 5 Emporia State 77, Central Oklahoma 68
KANSAS CITY -- The Lady Hornets got 17 points and seven rebounds from Merissa Quick as they came from behind to beat Central Oklahoma 77-68 in the quarterfinals of the Mid-America Intercollegiate tournament at Municipal Auditorium.
The Bronchos jumped out to a 23-11 lead wtih 11:48 left in the first half on the strength of five 3-pointers. The Lady Hornets answered with an 11-3 run to pull within 26-22 on a put back by Quick with 7:22 left in the half. Central Oklahoma took a three point lead at 36-33 into the locker rooms.
Emporia State would take their first lead since 3-2 when Kelly Moten converted an old fashioned three-point play with 15:12 left for a 43-42 advantage. The Bronchos closed to within 67-65 when Rheanna Egli hit a 3-pointer with 3:33 left to put the Lady Hornets up by five. Emporia State then hit five of six free throws in the final 1:14 to seal the win.
Quick was joined in double figures by Egli and Haley Parker with ten points each. Laura Patrick had nine first half points and added seven rebounds and three steals.
The Lady Hornets advanced to the MIAA semifinals for the sixth consecutive year and will play the winner of the game between Pittsburg State and Southwest Baptist.
No. 8 Nova Southeastern 75, Eckerd 68
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Nova Southeastern staved off an upset-minded Eckerd squad, winning in the SSC Championships quarterfinal round 75-68 on Thursday night.
The Sharks (23-4), seeded third, and the No. 8 Tritons (11-16) exchanged nine lead changes and had 10 ties, the last coming with 5:47 left at 58-58. It was a 61-60 NSU lead at the 4:35 mark, and the Sharks would go on a 12-4 run to finally get some breathing room, going ahead 73-64 with under a minute to go, and winning by seven.
Jessica Russi was just one rebound shy of a triple-double, with 13 points, nine boards and 10 assists. Three of those assists went to Amanda Burakoski, who led the Sharks with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and was 4-of-5 from behind the arc. Jasmine Wilkins was 6-of-8 from the field, and five of those makes came on passes from Russi. She had 14 points and seven rebounds.
Also in double digits was Taylor Buie with 11 points, including three 3-pointers, while Danielle Robinson chipped in with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds. The Sharks outrebounded Eckerd 42-24.
