By: Scott DCamp, Northland Communications
Rochester, Minn., March 15 -
Top-seeded Minnesota West defeated fifth-seeded Northland 68-55 in the semifinal round of the NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Friday evening at the Regional Sports Center in Rochester,
Friday's game was a rematch of the NJCAA Region XIII-B championship game that was won by the top-seeded blue Jays 75-69 in overtime. The Blue Jays were coming off a dominant 90-53 win over eighth-seeded Prince George's in Thursday's quarterfinals, while the Pioneers rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to stun fourth-seeded Anoka-Ramsey 54-43.
The Pioneers never led at any point in Friday night's game against the Blue Jays, but they did manage to make it a four-quarter battle. The Blue Jays scored on their first three possessions to take a 7-2 lead.
The Blue Jays led 14-9 when one of the game's biggest turning points took place.With 1:53 remaining in the first quarter, Northland sophomore
Shavonda Bender stole the ball from Minnesota West's Olivia Hyenga. Bender fired a pass to freshman
Tiyana Schwinghammer, who had a clean path to the basket before she was knocked to the ground by Hayenga. Schwinghammer was shaken up on the play and left the game. Schwinghammer would return later in the quarter.
Hayenga's foul was ruled to be intentional, which presented the Pioneers with a chance to get within a point of the Blue Jays, or even tie the game. Freshman
Josie Iverson made the second of her two free throw attempts to make it a 14-10 game. The Pioneers kept possession of the ball due to the intentional foul, but failed to score. The Blue Jays took advantage of the situation and finished the quarter on 5-0 run.
The Pioneers' deficit grew in each of the three quarters. They trailed by nine after one quarter and were down by as many as 19 points in the second quarter, 33-14, before rallying to make it an 11-point ballgame at the half.
The Pioneers trailed by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, but they again rallied to cut the deficit to 13 points at the end of three quarters.
Down 52-39 to start the fourth, the Pioneers went on a 14-7 run to make the score 59-53 with 3:18 remaining.
The Pioneers were unable to draw any closer, as the Blue Jays finished the game on a 9-2 run.
Hayenga and Hattie Devries were the top scorers for the Blue Jays with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Schwinghammer struggled immediately after the hard foul by Hayenga, but she eventually bounced back to lead the Pioneers with 19 points. Also reaching double figures for the Pioneers was
Hannah Halvorson with 14 points.
Northland faces sixth-seeded Dallas College - Cedar Valley in the third place game at 2 p.m. Saturday.
(5) Northland vs. (1) Minnesota WestMarch 15, 2024
(24-6)
55
(25-7)
68
Box Score
(1) Minnesota West
| PLAYER |
MIN |
FGM-A |
3PM-A |
FTM-A |
OREB |
DREB |
REB |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
TO |
PF |
PTS |
| STARTERS |
|
| 10 - Hattie DeVries |
26 |
9-12 |
0-1 |
2-2 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
20 |
| 11 - Skyla Petersen |
28 |
0-6 |
0-1 |
0-0 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
| 13 - Wiconi UsesArrow |
36 |
4-7 |
1-3 |
1-3 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
| 15 - Audrey Drapeau |
40 |
4-11 |
3-6 |
4-5 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
2 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
15 |
| 20 - Olivia Hayenga |
37 |
8-14 |
2-3 |
3-5 |
4 |
7 |
11 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
21 |
| RESERVES |
|
| 2 - Ava Parrish |
6 |
0-1 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 22 - Dasia Potter |
21 |
0-4 |
0-2 |
0-0 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 33 - Aisha Ziede |
5 |
1-2 |
0-0 |
0-1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| TM - Team |
|
|
|
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
0 |
|
| TOTALS |
|
26-57 |
6-16 |
10-16 |
10 |
28 |
38 |
18 |
6 |
1 |
20 |
14 |
68 |
|
|
45.6% |
37.5% |
62.5% |
|
Game Information
| Date/Time: |
March 15, 2024 - 5:00 PM |
| Location: |
RCTC Fieldhouse, Rochester, MN |
| Technical fouls: |
(5) Northland-None ; (1) Minnesota West-1 ( Olivia Hayenga) . |
