SIOUX CITY, Iowa — A stifling zone defense ended the season for the Tabor College women’s basketball team in the Quarterfinals of the NAIA Div. II National Championship Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. Briar Cliff (Iowa) defeated Tabor 62-53 and never trailed after opening up with an 8-0 run.
The Chargers played a tight 2-3 zone that didn’t allow the Bluejays to score a field goal until the 8:47 mark in the 1st half. Senior forward Erin Maxwell ended a lengthy drought with a bucket underneath. A pair of 3-pointers by junior guard Taylor Hurd kept the Bluejays in it, despite shooting 28 percent from the field in the half. Senior forward Tonisha Dean battled an illness and foul trouble that limited her to playing just six minutes in the first half.
The Chargers tough defense forced the Bluejays to turn the ball over 15 times in the first half—they finished the game with a total of 25. At halftime, Briar Cliff clung to a 24-20 lead.
“They had a really good defense,” Hurd, who contributed nine points, said. “We’ve struggled with the zone, but we came out and the seniors played really hard and I felt like we fought to the very end.”
The Chargers started the second half on a 6-0 run and extended their lead 30-20. It took more than eight minutes into the second half for the Bluejays to score another field goal. Sophomore forward Tena Loewen scored two of her eight points at the 12:42 mark, but by then, Briar Cliff held a 34-23 advantage. Seconds later, junior guard Mallory Zuercher pulled up and knocked down a 3-point shot to cut the lead to eight.
The Chargers largest lead of the game came with 6:01 to play, when Briar Cliff freshman guard Julie Targy capitalized in the middle of the paint and extended the Chargers’ lead 45-32. The Bluejays got as close as eight with just over two minutes to go in the game, but that would be as close as they would get.
Dean ended the game and her collegiate career with two 3-point shots, but it was too little too late, as Briar Cliff held on for the 62-53 victory.
Dean led the Bluejays with 14 points in only 20 minutes of action. Briar Cliff junior guard Jessi Corrick led the Chargers with 19 points—making 15 of her 16 free throw attempts.
Tabor Head Coach Shawn Reed said getting the first two victories in the tournament wore his team down.
“There was a little different look in their eyes today,” Reed said. “They looked a little tired to me. We invested a lot of energy to win two games and we’ve done a lot in four years as a program, but to do what we want to do, we’ve got to get a little bit deeper. We’ve got to be able to play 10 to 12 people to win this thing. We’re getting there. We’re building, but we’re just not quite there yet.”
Tabor came into the tournament a seventh seed and knocked off two higher seeded teams, en route to its first trip to the Elite Eight. The Bluejays beat No. 2 Marian University 53-50 on Wednesday morning and defeated No. 3 Southern Oregon 72-65 on Friday morning. Reed said by getting a lower seed the tournament and upsetting two teams, it helps build for the future.
“I think people are gaining respect for our program, understanding that we play a tough schedule,” Reed said. “I just believe in scheduling hard. We go on the road a lot. I just think it will make us better, but it hurts our seeding. We build towards this time.”
The experience of playing in the NAIA Tournament and in the Elite Eight is something that these players will cherish forever.
“It was amazing,” Hurd said. “A lot of people underestimated us and we came out with fire and played as hard as we could and we made it far. I’m really proud of everybody.”
“I’m proud of them,” Reed added. “It’s hard to have perspective when you’re so disappointed. We felt like we didn’t play our best game and Briar Cliff has a big part of that because they played really well. I just didn’t feel like they played their best.”
Photos courtesy of Janae Rempel, Hillsboro Free Press