SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Defense continues to carry the No. 3-seed Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball team through the NAIA National Championship as IWU defeated top-seed College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 68-50 in the national quarterfinal in Sioux City, Iowa.
The three Wildcat opponents during the tournament have averaged 73.3 points per game during the season. In the three tournament games, those three teams averaged just 47.3 points and no team has scored more than 50 points.
One of the telling stories of the night was the 3-point shooting of the Bobcats. In their stunning 92-74 victory the night before over defending national champions Morningside (Iowa) College, Ozarks rarely missed from beyond the arc at 14-of-24 (58.3-percent). Against IWU on Saturday, Ozarks was shutout on seven attempts.
Much like the night before for Indiana Wesleyan, neither team carried a lead bigger than four points throughout the first half, except for a 14 second span late in the half when Indiana Wesleyan held a brief six point lead (23-17).
Ozarks, ranked No. 6 in the final NAIA regular season poll, hit the final two field goals of the half to shrink the IWU lead to two points at 23-21 at halftime.
No. 7-ranked Indiana Wesleyan then stormed out of the second half gate with the first seven points for a 30-21 advantage. The lead stretched to double figures shortly thereafter on a basket in the paint by junior forward LeAnn Douglas for a 32-22 lead with 16:40 remaining.
In less than three minutes though, Ozarks scored six unanswered points to make it a two possession game. But Indiana Wesleyan responded with a 10-2 run to increase the lead to 12 points (42-30) and 12:13 remaining.
The Mid-Central College Conference Player of the Year, junior forward Elaine Hessel, carried the Wildcats in the quarterfinal contest. Her basket at 9:35 pushed the IWU lead to 14 (46-32) for the first time on the night. Hessel finished with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
The Bobcats made one last effort to climb back into the game with a stretch of 10 of the next 14 points to make it an eight point game (50-42).
Indiana Wesleyan would continue to put the clamp on the opposition's offense and allow Ozarks just eight points over the final 7:06. IWU was able to increase their lead to as many as 18 points on two occasions in the final seven minutes to seal a spot in the national semifinal.
IWU dominated second half play and outscored Ozarks 45-29 in the final 20 minutes. The Wildcats shot 60.9-percent (14 of 23) during the huge second half.
The Wildcats shot 44.0-percent (22 of 50) on the evening and 44.4-percent (8 of 18) from 3-point range. IWU hit many clutch free throws late in the contest and finished the game at 16-of-19 (84.2-percent) from the foul line.
Sophomore guard Rachel Steinbarger was excellent for Indiana Wesleyan with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting. She was 2-of-3 from deep and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
The semifinal appearance is just the second in program history. IWU last appeared in the Final Four in 2007 when the Wildcats won the national championship.
Indiana Wesleyan and Ozarks have now met three times in the last four years during the national tournament. IWU defeated Ozarks 48-34 in the national title game in 2007 while C of O defeated IWU 59-50 in the Second Round in 2009.
IWU will play a fellow No. 3-seed in the national semifinal against Shawnee State (Ohio) University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Monday, March 16 in Sioux City, Iowa.
There are three different avenues to follow the Wildcats in the NAIA Final Four: live stats gamecast, a radio broadcast on WBAT 1400 AM and on local television on WIWU TV-51 on Brighthouse Cable 23.
