Asbury (Ky.) upsets St. Francis (IL) at NAIA DII WBB National Championship
Asbury (Ky.) upsets St. Francis (IL) at NAIA DII WBB National Championship
By Jacob Knabel, Concordia (Neb.) Sports Information Director
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – (Box Score - Bracket) For the second time in a 12-hour span, a No. 2 seed fell victim to a first-round upset. Unranked Asbury (Ky.) built a 10-point lead and then held off second-seeded St. Francis (Ill.) in the final seconds to claim a 63-60 upset win. It marked the first national tournament victory in program history for the Eagles, winner of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
First-year head coach Tim Brown's squad now advances to the second round where it will meet third-seeded Tabor (Kan.) at 3:30 p.m. CT on Friday. Ranked sixth in the final coaches' poll, head coach Samantha Quigley's group finished its season at 28-4 overall.
In the midst of a sluggish offensive fourth quarter, Asbury (24-9) needed several key stops down the stretch to make school history. The Fighting Saints turned the ball over and misfired on four shots in the final minute-and-a-half that would have allowed them to either tie or take the lead. They even got ab break when Catie Fletcher clanged two free throws with seven seconds left and the Eagles nursing a two-point lead. Angelica Osusky missed inside on the ensuing possession and Asbury celebrated.
St. Francis tallied the final seven points of the third quarter to get within three (49-46) entering the final stanza. After beginning the game 2-for-11 from the field, Alexis Brown slashed for two in transition and then hit a three in the left corner to beat the third-quarter buzzer. Suddenly, the Fighting Saints had the momentum after finding themselves down 10 late in the frame.
St. Francis' Ivana Markovic waited until the 6:30 mark of the fourth quarter for her first field goal. She deposited a right corner triple into the bottom of the net to even the score at 54-54. Less than a minute later, Charnelle Reed diced into the lane to give St. Francis the lead, 56-55. From that point on it was a white knuckler.
The resilient Asbury dug deep and held the Fighting Saints to 39.3 percent shooting. In a game when buckets were hard to come by, junior guard Brittany Warren's 18 points and trio of triples proved crucial. As was Cassidy Flynn's 3-point play after St. Francis had edged in front in the fourth quarter. Savannah Taylor added 13 points and six rebounds for the victors. In her final collegiate game, St. Francis' Alexis Brown put up a game high 20 points.
Asbury has made itself comfortable in wire-to-wire games. It has won nine-consecutive contests, including four that have gone to overtime. The Eagles last lost on Feb. 2.