Women’s basketball enters the Final 4
0Written by Regina Robinson
Saturday, March 19, No. 6-seed UPIKE keeps making history as the Bears knocked off No. 5-seed Great Falls (Mont.) 75-68 in the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament in the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The first half was as back-and-forth as it gets as neither side claimed more than a seven-point lead. Great Falls (24-11) was opened strong with a 13-7 lead, but UPIKE didn’t stay down for long. The Bears scored the final eight points of the quarter to grab their first lead since it was 2-0 at 15-13. “Obviously, I’m ecstatic to be among the last four. I always say this is a player’s game and I give them all the credit, as coaches we just try to prepare them the best we can. My staff has been amazing putting in the work to get these ladies in position to win. I thought it was a sloppy, back-and-forth game, but we had some players step up, it feels great,” said UPIKE head coach Joanna McNamee. It stayed tight in the second half until the Bears sprung a 6-0 run over the final minute and a half of the third quarter to push their lead to nine. Ten points ended up being their biggest advantage the rest of the way, reaching it twice, including at 62-52 at the latest with just minutes remaining. Kandice Porter said, “Going into the game everyone had a good feeling about the outcome. And when we won we were beyond excited. It felt like we were dreaming. Is this real? Are we really heading to the final four?” March 21, the Bears will take on MidAmerican Nazarene at 8 p.m. central time. “We are not done yet! It’s our time,” said Porter.