Pointers Survive Past Hardin-Simmons to
Reach Final Four
Box Score The
line on the UW-Stevens Point women�s basketball team�s gas tanks was well
past the �E� in the final minutes of Saturday�s sectional final with
Hardin-Simmons, but the Pointers persevered, scoring the final five points
of the game to secure their third trip to the NCAA Division III Final Four
with a 72-67 victory.
Playing without its top two post players for the
final 2:47 of the game and coming off a physical, hard-fought win the
previous night over Washington (Mo.), the Pointers were running on fumes
before finally pulling out the win to improve to 28-3 overall. UW-Stevens
Point will face Bowdoin (Maine) in Virginia Beach, Va. on Friday.
Rochester (N.Y.) and Wilmington (Ohio) will meet in the other semifinal.
�I can�t say enough about the effort of these
kids tonight,� said Pointers� coach Shirley Egner, who won her 250th
career game. �Obviously, there was a big piece of our puzzle missing out
there at the end�but those other kids stepped it up. This was a team
effort.�
The Pointers played a sluggish first half with
19 turnovers and trailed 34-29 at halftime as the Cowgirls closed the half
with a 10-1 run. UW-Stevens Point battled back to take a 59-49 lead with
7:12 left before another Hardin-Simmons rally. WIAC Player of the Year
Amanda Nechuta fouled out with three minutes left and Amy Scott fouled out
13 seconds later, taking the Pointers� top two inside players out of the
game.
Veronica Jones pulled the Cowgirls within two
points on a three-pointer at 67-65 with 2:13 left. Diana Martinez then
stripped Pointer guard Cassandra Schultz and dished to Lauren Harris, who
scored a layup with 1:59 left to tie the game.
Schultz missed a three-pointer on the Pointers�
next possession and Hardin-Simmons had three shots on its next trip, but
Kristi Miller got the rebound for the Pointers and was fouled with 1:17
left. Miller hit both free throws before one of the most dramatic moments
of the night when Pointers� senior Cassandra Heuer, who suffered a knee
injury on Feb. 23 and had not played since, entered the game on the
defensive possession. The teams traded turnovers and the Cowgirls missed
two shots before Lyssa Dennard traveled after getting an offensive rebound
with 34 seconds left.
�Heuer put the sleeve on (her knee brace) and
came up to me and said she wanted to go in,� Egner said. �It was her
decision and it was a big lift for our team and got the crowd even more
involved in the game.�
Tara Schmitt hit two free throws with 23 seconds
left to put the Pointers ahead 71-67 before Jones traveled with 14 seconds
left to give the ball back to UW-Stevens Point. Schultz made one of two
free throws and Martinez missed a three-pointer as the Pointers hung on
for the win.
Andrea Kraemer had the big night for the
Pointers, scoring a career-high 26 points and hitting three-pointers with
4:35 and 3:25 left to give UW-Stevens Point a six-point lead each time.
She finished 11-for-13 from the field and three-for-five from three-point
range.
�I just took the open looks that I got,� Kraemer
said. �I just kind of squared up on both of them and let it go.�
The Pointers three seniors: Kraemer, Schmitt and
Heuer all earned their 100th career victory and are now 100-17 in their
four years.
�Here�s five kids that have won 100 career
games,� Egner said. �That�s amazing in a college career and it shows what
they�ve meant for us. That�s the story here.�
UW-Stevens Point overcame 29 turnovers by
shooting 51.0 percent from the field. Hardin-Simmons shot just 33.8
percent for the game. Harris led the Cowgirls with 18 points and Schultz
had 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Pointers.
UW-Stevens Point is now 14-1 all-time in NCAA
tournament games and it marks the third straight year a Wisconsin
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team has reached the final four.
�I think it says a lot about our conference, but
you have to have a little luck too,� Egner said. �I�m not going to take
anything away from our kids, but I�d rather be lucky than good.� |
