Point Park Claims Second-Straight KIAC Title
PIPPA PASSES, Ky. -- No. 1 seed Point Park erased a 10-point, halftime deficit to defeat No. 2 Asbury (Ky.), 67-59, in the KIAC Women's Basketball Tournament Finals on Saturday, March 1 at Alice Lloyd (Ky.) College.
The Pioneers (29-4, 13-4 KIAC) trailed, 33-23, at the half to Asbury (25-7, 13-4 KIAC), but they outscored the Eagles, 44-26, the final 20 minutes to earn their third-straight trip to the NAIA Division II national tournament March 12-18 in Sioux City, Iowa.
Point Park's Kayla Kiriau, from Wellington, New Zealand, led all scorers with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. She made 8 of 8 from the foul line including some big ones late to hold off a rally attempt by Asbury.
Forward Carly Forse, from Bishop Canevin High School, scored 14 of her 16 points after halftime to lead the second-half charge. Guard Alexa Xenakis, a Keystone Oaks product, scored 16 points and made 4 of 9 from outside the arc.
Xenakis hit a big 3-pointer to give the Pioneers a 59-54 lead with 3:02 to play. From there, Point Park put the game away at the foul line with Kiriau making four free throws and Forse two in the final minute.
Down 10 at the halftime after a season-low 23 points in the first half, Point Park opened the second half on a 17-7 run to erase the deficit and forge a 40-40 tie with 13:53 left.
Point Park, which is in the 'others receiving votes' section of the NAIA Division II Top 25 Poll at No. 27 overall this week, will learn its seeding and first-round opponent in the national tournament when the bracket is announced March 5.
Point Park has won its third-consecutive conference tournament championship with the last two coming in the KIAC. The Pioneers were the 2011-12 AMC Tournament champions.