Sioux City, Iowa - The Central Methodist Women's Basketball program won a thriller over No. 3 seeded Marian (Ind.) in the Quarterfinals of the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship tournament Wednesday afternoon in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Eagles punch their ticket to the NAIA Fab Four for the second consecutive season, improving their overall record to 35-0. Marian sees its season come to an end with a final mark of 29-6.
After a 14-12 first quarter that was in favor of the Knights, Central was outscored by Marian, 16-10 in the second quarter. The halftime score saw the Eagles trailing the Knights, 30-22.
Central's defense buckled down in the third quarter, allowing just 10 Knight points while netting 18 themselves. Entering the fourth, the score was tied at 40-40.
The Eagles would open the final frame with six straight points, while holding Marian scoreless through nearly the first five minutes of the fourth.
Marian battled back though with six-straight points to tie the game at 46-46 with a pair of free throws at the 2:52 mark of the fourth. Both teams would exchange buckets on the following two possessions to remain deadlocked at 48-48.
With just a little over a minute remaining, sophomore forward Leah Johnson nailed a 10-foot jumper to put Central ahead. On the ensuiing possession, the Knights had an opportunity to tie with a pair of free throws, but were unable to convert with 45 seconds remaining.
The Eagles were able to let the clock wind down to under 20 seconds in the fourth. Sophomore Leianya Massenat nailed a 15-foot contested jumper from the corner to put Central up four.
CMU's defense held steady in the final moments to punch their ticket to the NAIA National Semifinals.
Massenat led Central's offense with 17 points along with five rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Johnson secured another double double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Eight of her boards came on the offensive glass in 31 minutes of action. The native of Ewing, N.J. is now just four points shy of 1,000 for her career.
Daryna Bachkarova played every available minute for Central, tallying nine points, four rebounds, and two steals. Zutorya Cook added eight points, four steals and three assists.
Central finished the day shooting only 34.4 percent from the floor compared to an even 40 percent for the Knights. Despite the offense being held to their lowest point total this season, CMU's defense held strong, forcing 19 turnovers on 10 steals.
The Eagles will face the winner from the Cramer Quadrant, No. 1 Thomas More and No. 3 Montana Western, Friday, March 17 at 6:00 p.m. in the National Semifinals for a chance to make their first national championship appearance in program history.
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