DULUTH, MN (UMDBulldogs.com) –
NCAA DII Central Region Tourney in Duluth, MN
TITLE GAME
(3) MO Southern
(1) UMD 77-76
- UMD had a comeback for the ages to punch that proverbial ticket to the Elite 8, stunning the team that had shocked ITS opponent in the prior two games w/ huge 4th quarter comebacks as the Bulldogs snuck away with a 77-76 win over MO Southern. The Lions were up by as much as 20 points with about six minutes left in the 3rd quarter. That MSSU lead was still at 11 w/ just 1:40 to go! A 3-ball, a steal, and a layup, cut the deficit to six; but two MO Southern FT’s pushed it back to eight. UMD canned another 3ptr, MO Southern hit one FT, and Duluth drained another trey to get w/in 3p w/ 0:43 remaining. MSSU hit one more FT before a Bulldog put back off a missed trey made it a 2-point game w/ 31sec left. Taytum Rhoades got a tie-up off the in-bounds toss, giving the ball to UMD & Ella Gilbertson connected from downtown to take the 1-point lead w/ 15 sec to go. Kryslyn Jones missed contested layup as time wound down, and the Duluth ladies found themselves quickly amongst an ecstatic mob on the floor. MSSU led for nearly 37 of the 40 minutes, and they never trailed by more than one point. UMD won the 4Q, 30-19, after the Lions had won the final frame by double-digits in each of the 1st two rounds of the tourney. The win also avenges one of just three losses this season for the Bulldogs, as they fell to MO Southern 54-51 in their 2nd game of the season. UMD now has 30 wins this campaign. The 20-point comeback is the biggest since Feb. 2009 for UMD. They now move on to St. Joseph, MO, for their 1st ever Elite 8 on Monday, March 20.
- UMD – Brooke Olson 21p, 13r; Ella Gilbertson 21p; Taya Hakamaki 16p, 4a, 4b, 2s
- MSSU – Lacy Stokes 22p, 10r, 5a; Kryslyn Jones 18p; Madi Stokes 13p; Layne Skiles 12p