Women Move to Elite 8

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - A top-five program at the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship was sent packing on Friday at the hands of No. 7-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University. IWU brought the season of No. 4-ranked Black Hills State (S.D.) University to a close with a 58-50 victory.
Indiana Wesleyan moves forward to the NAIA Elite Eight for the first time since the 2007 National Championship season. The quarterfinal appearance is the third ever for the program.
The No. 3-seeded Wildcats continue to stump opponents on the defensive end of the floor as the Yellow Jackets, a No. 2-seed, were held to 35.1-percent (20 of 57) shooting and 31.3-percent (5 of 16) from deep.
Although Black Hills State (26-7) committed just 10 turnovers in the contest, they continually were forced to put up contested shots.
Likewise, Indiana Wesleyan struggled all game to connect on field goals at just a 34.9-percent (15 of 43) clip and 13.3-percent (2 of 15) from 3-point range. But IWU was able to pound the ball inside and draw nearly double the fouls (21 to 11) on Black Hills State.
The Wildcats shot 23 more free throws than the Yellow Jackets and finished at 26-of-31 (83.9-percent) from the charity stripe. The Yellow Jackets were 5-of-8 (62.5-percent).
IWU junior forward Elaine Hessel led all players with 22 points and did most her damage at the foul line, finishing 10-of-10.
The first half of action was close throughout its entirety as the half remained a one possession contest from tip-off to halftime. The first 20 minutes showcased eight ties and nine lead changes. Black Hills State scored at the close of the half to take a 23-21 lead into the break.
The Yellow Jackets made it a two possession lead for the first time the entire game at the 16:54 mark with a 28-24 advantage. But Hessel scored on back-to-back possessions for the Wildcats to bring the ninth tie of the game at 15:24.
Neither team would gain a lead greater than three until IWU junior forward LeAnn Douglas scored in the paint for a 41-37 Indiana Wesleyan lead with 8:05 left on the clock. It was the largest lead for IWU at that point.
Indiana Wesleyan maintained a lead between two and four points for the next four and a half minutes until Douglas sank a pair of free throws at 3:45 for the 47-41 advantage. Following a 3-point bucket for the Yellow Jackets, the Wildcats would score the next four points as sophomore center Krystal Stoneking and sophomore guard Rachel Steinbarger each hit two free throws for a 51-44 lead.
Black Hills State would climb to within five points, but once again Stoneking and Steinbarger would respond for Indiana Wesleyan with five unanswered points. Steinbarger hit two free throws with 1:08 remaining and Stoneking hit one of two at 58 seconds for a 54-46 lead.
Stoneking would complete the small run with a fast break layup with 39 seconds remaining to put Black Hills State away and advance to the NAIA Elite Eight.
Stoneking was superb off the Wildcat bench with 12 points and nine rebounds. She was 3-of-3 from the line and 6-of-8 from the foul line. Sophomore guard Stephanie Burtch also gave IWU some excellent minutes off the bench as she hit on 3-of-6 shots for seven points.
Indiana Wesleyan (28-6) will play in the national quarterfinals at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 13 against the winner of No. 1-seed College of the Ozarks (Mo.) and No. 4-seed Morningside (Iowa) College.