Trine's Second Half Defense Secures Sectional Semifinal Berth
-- Story provided by Trine University Athletics --
DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Trine University women's basketball team defeated the host of the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Division III Tournament Loras College 60-54. The Thunder advance to the Sectional Semifinal Round for the second consecutive postseason. Trine is 23-6 overall this season while the season comes to the end for Loras at 22-5.
"It was a hard fought game by both teams, Loras has a really good team and what an atmosphere," head coach Andy Rang said postgame. "I told our team we need to embrace that and I thought we did. The first half they took it to us, but the second half we turned up the pressure and really took it to them."
The team's traded baskets in the first quarter as both sides ground the pace as slow as they could. Katie Sloneker got the scoring started with a post move and Katie Tate followed that up with a layup.
Abby Sanner came off the bench and provided a much-needed spark with some of the leading scorers getting guarded closely. She had six points before the game's first media timeout with just under two minutes to go. She would add an elbow jumper before the quarter ended at 16-14 Loras.
"Throughout the year, there have been different moments with different players stepping up and this one was just my time!" Sanner mentioned to the postgame media.
A three-point barrage followed by the Duhawks with three makes in the opening minutes of the second. The lead would grow to as many as nine at 25-16. The team looked to their freshman forward inside for points and Sanner would provide, not shying away from the big stage.
She had 15 of the team's 25 points and got the Thunder to within four at 29-25. However, Loras got a top of the key three and an offensive rebound putback to go into halftime up 34-25.
The Duhawks knocked down six three-point field goals in the first half while Trine was held without a make in the first 20 minutes. An 18-11 second quarter scoring difference created the hole.
The halftime adjustments by the Thunder paid off as the team put Loras into a chokehold. The Duhawks had only five made field goals in the entire second half as Trine made up all of the nine-point margin in the third quarter. Makayla Ardis was scoreless in the first half, but fueled the rally with nine points in the third quarter alone.
At the media timeout, the Thunder were still trailing 40-34, but a made jumper by Sanner was the start of a 15-3 scoring run, which included 11 in a row. A pair of three's by Ardis and Sierra Hinds and a made jump shot by Sidney Wagner got the game tied at 43 at the third quarter buzzer.
"Shots weren't falling for us early and I really focused on my defense and rebounding," Wagner voiced. "That's one thing you can always control is your effort defensively."
The run continued when Alyssa Argyle and Wagner each had a field goal to open the fourth. A timeout for the Duhawks at 7:36 to go wasn't enough after a Sanner layup made it 49-43 and the home squad utilized one more at 5:54. A scoring drought lasting 6:39 in the game came to an end with a pair of free throws, but the defense remained locked in and a pair of free throws by Tate made it 55-47 with three minutes left.
Loras netted four unanswered to make it 55-51 with less than one minute to go and the Duhawks had to foul to stay alive. Wagner made one-of-two and Loras banked a three-pointer to get back to within one possession, 56-54. The sophomore was sent back to the charity stripe two more times and was true on all four to get to the 60-54 final.
Sanner finished with a team and career-high 19 points and Wagner had 17. She finished with a double-double at 17 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and a team-high four assists. Ardis added 11 points and seven rebounds. Loras was restricted to 34.0% (18-of-53) from the field and the Thunder shot 43.4% (23-of-53), overcoming a dismal 17.6% (3-of-17) from deep.
Ardis had this to say of her performance, specifically on the glass, "I love to be the one sneaking through and getting the rebound."
Trine will face New York University in the Sectional Semifinal Round on Friday, March 10. Visit www.trinethunder.com for more information throughout the week.
Hope Women's Basketball Completes Memorable Journey in NCAA Second Round
-- Story provided by Hope College Athletics --
As much as a boisterous home crowd and five determined seniors tried, the Hope College women's basketball team could not muster up another memorable comeback at DeVos Fieldhouse.
Wartburg College (Iowa) ended the Flying Dutch's bid for a repeat national championship, winning their second-round game in the NCAA Division III Tournament, 81-67, on Saturday.
Wartburg (23-6) dashed Hope's title hopes for the second time in four years after breaking open a close game with a 26-point second quarter.
The Flying Dutch answered with a 26-point third quarter of their own but could not pull closer than six points and finished the season with a 26-3 overall record. Wartburg advanced to sectional play next week.
Despite the disappointing ending, Hope head coach Brian Morehouse was glad he coached the group of Flying Dutch he did this season.
"I would not have wanted to go on this journey with anybody but the five women up here," Morehouse said during the post-game press conference that featured all five seniors who went 103-4 over the past four seasons: Claire Baguley, Savannah Feenstra, Kate Majerus, Ella McKinney and his daughter, Meg Morehouse.
"I know it sounds cliche,". Every coach says at the end of the year," Brian Morehouse said. "Not every coach gets to go through it with their daughter and four of her best friends. This journey has been one of the greatest experiences of my life as a coach. These five made it that way."
The five seniors combined for 55 of Hope's 67 points.
McKinney (DeWitt, Michigan / DeWitt HS) netted a game-high 23 points. Baguley (Ada, Michigan / Forest Hills Central) finished with 14 points. Feenstra (Osceola, Indiana / Northwood) added eight points and 10 rebounds.
While shooting 46.4% from the floor for the game (26-56), the Flying Dutch could not overcome 19 turnovers and 30% shooting from 3-point range (6-2).
Wartburg eclipsed the Flying Dutch with 53.8% field-goal shooting (28-52) and 58.3% 3-point shooting with 14 3-points in 24 attempts.
Wartburg sank 6-of-8 3-pointers during the second quarter and raced to a 41-25 halftime lead.
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The deficit for Hope grew to 19 points twice early in the second half before the Flying Dutch heated up and trimmed down to six at 58-52 on a Feenstra layup with 52 seconds remaining. Wartburg held off Hope from there.
Five Wartburg scored in double figures, led by Sara Faber's 16 points and 15 apiece for Jaedon Murphy and Britney Young.
"I have so much respect for Coach Morehouse, his program and the way they do it," Wartburg coach Bob Amsberry said. "We thought we might not get into this thing. When the pairings came out, we were really excited. I told our group we get through Friday and have a chance to play the defending national champs on their court, 'What more could you want?' This group just believed in themselves. Our kids executed (the game plan) really, really well."
The loss snapped Hope's nine-game winning streak in the NCAA Tournament that dated back to the 2020 season that was halted in the sectional round by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I'm incredibly proud of this team: the fight, the comeback," Brian Morehouse said. "The crowd was unbelievable. They put us on their back. That's one of the loudest crowds I've ever heard at DeVos. They gave us energy and we needed them. I don't even know how these kids were even walking at the end. They played so many minutes. They played so hard. They went to places I didn't know they could get to cut it down.
"That is a microcosm of their college careers, meaning I've never had a group of players improve more as basketball players than the five people up here. I've never had a group that fought harder and really put their imprint on this program: on what fun looks like and what having a work ethic looks like."
