SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The No. 9 EOU women's basketball team reached the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division II National Championship for the third time in school history, as the Mountaineers muscled past No. 8 Dakota Wesleyan, 83-75, on Friday afternoon at the Tyson Events Center.
In addition to clinching its second trip to the quarterfinals, EOU eclipsed the 30-win mark for the second time in program history. Junior guard Maya Ah You (Dias) finished with a game-high 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting and was instrumental in helping the Blue and Gold overcome an eight-point deficit in the second half.
Ironically enough, the Mountaineers went a blistering 27-for-30 (90 percent) from the line against the Tigers, who shot just 73 percent (19-for-26) after entering the matchup as second-best free throw shooting team in the country
Junior forward Stormee Van Belle netted 14 points to go along with eight boards, while junior guard Payton Parrish and senior forward Donniesha Webber added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Dias scored 11 of EOU's 27 first-quarter points, and the Blue and Gold shot 57.9 percent (11-for-19) from the floor on the way to taking a six-point (27-21) advantage into the second quarter.
In the second frame, the Tigers scored 11 of the first 15 points to snag a 32-31 lead before Parrish swooshed a triple in the right corner to put the Blue and Gold back on top by two with 3:28 left in the quarter. She then tossed in two free throws to extend the edge to five (40-35) after Dakota Wesleyan's Sarah Carr was whistled for a flagrant-one foul, and EOU ultimately took a 40-36 lead into the locker room.
The Tigers (27-7) opened the third with a 13-1 run to go up by eight (49-41) before Van Belle ended a nine-minute field goal drought for EOU with the old-fashioned three-point play. A triple by Webber cut the deficit to two (53-51), and then senior forward Ashley Knight drew back-to-back charges to keep Dakota Wesleyan at bay in the paint.
In the final moments of the third, junior forward Mariah Swanson dropped a floater in the lane, and then Van Belle booked a pair at the charity stripe to give EOU a 55-53 advantage going into the fourth stanza.
Dias converted a rare four-point play after being fouled on a three-pointer to put EOU up six (61-55) in the fourth before Dakota Wesleyan battled back to pull within two (63-61) midway through the frame.
Swanson and Van Belle scored back-to-back buckets in the paint to push it back to six (67-61), and the Mountaineers' suffocating defense held the Tigers to only three field goals in the final 7:14 to seal the win.
BY THE NUMBERS
3RD – Trip to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship in program history for EOU, as well as the second time the Mountaineers reached 30 wins.
22 – Points tallied by Dias – her third 20-plus point effort of the 2016-17 campaign.
90 – EOU shot 90 percent from the free throw line with a 27-for-30 clip, including a 25-for-28 effort in the second half.
UP NEXT
EOU (30-4) returns to action tomorrow against first-seeded and top-ranked Saint Francis (33-1) at 3 p.m. CT.
