JACKSON, Tenn. -- In the longest game to this point of the 29th Annual NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championships, No. 3 seed University of the Cumberlands edged No. 2 seed Freed Hardeman (Tenn.) University 105-99 in a double overtime thriller.  Amber Neace (London, KY) scored 23 of her team-high 27 points after halftime to help push the Patriots to their first ever appearance in the national tournament Elite 8.  The 204 combined points was just four points shy of the national tournament record of 208 set back in 1988 (Oklahoma City def. Claflin (S.C.) 113-95).

The game started with Freed-Hardeman jumping out to a 19-3 lead over the first five minutes of play and seemed to be well on their way to another quarterfinal appearance.  However, the Cumberlands began to slowly chip away at the Lady Lion lead.  Over the next 11 minutes, the Patriots outscored Freed-Hardeman 31-12 to cut their deficit to three points, 34-31.  But the Lady Lions closed the half with a 7-2 run to take a 41-33 halftime lead.

In the second half, Freed-Hardeman extended their lead to 15 points on three occasions, with the latest occurrence coming at 61-46, with 7:21 left to play.  Freed-Hardeman then led by nine points, 69-60, with 4:11 left in regulation.  The Cumberlands rallied with a 17-5 run to take a three point lead, 77-74 with seven seconds remaining.  After a timeout called by Freed-Hardeman with 1.9 seconds left on the clock, Chelsie Alsup drained a three-pointer from the corner as time expired to send the game to overtime.

In the first overtime period, Freed-Hardeman led by four points, 82-78 with 2:19 remaining.  However, it was the Patriots who again rallied to take an 87-85 lead inside a minute to play.  Freed-Hardeman's Whitney Johnson was fouled and drained two free-throws with 15 seconds left to tie the game at 87-87.  The Cumberlands Amber Neace had two shots to win, with the last shot hanging on the rim before falling off as time expired.

Freed-Hardeman again led by three points, 90-87, with 4:12 left.  But Neace drained a three pointer to tie the game at 90-90.  The Lady Lions led 97-96 with 59 seconds left, when Stephanie Quattrociocchi (Windsor, Canada) hit a three pointer to give the Cumberlands the lead for good.  The Patriots led by as many as six points twice in the second over time, with the latest coming in the 105-99 final.

In addition to Neace's 27 points for the Cumberlands, she grabbed 11 rebounds.  Johnna Abney (Mt. Vernon, KY) added 19 points, Madison Flowers (Somerset, KY) scored 17 points, and Lauren Wombles (London, KY) added 13 points for the Patriots.  Freed-Hardeman was led by Jana Cross with a game-high 34 points, while also recording 10 rebounds.  Whitney Johnson scored 17 points, Tara Deathridge added 16 points, and Meribeth Boehler scored 11 points for the Lady Lions.

 

Article Courtesy of NAIA Sports Information