INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – Wednesday's first round match up for the Raven Women's Basketball team was one of swings as fifth-seeded Benedictine took on fourth-seeded Montana State-Northern.
In the end, Benedictine (27-6) outscored MSU-Northern (23-9) 7-5 in overtime to earn a 55-53 2in over the Skylights and advance to the second round of the NAIA Div. I Women's Basketball National Championship for the third time in program history.
Benedictine forced MSU-Northern into 21 points on Wednesday, which translated to 14 points for the Ravens. It was the fifth time this season that MSU-Northern had committed more than 20 turnovers and the first time that it resulted in a loss.
"Our defense was a key," said Raven head coach Chad Folsom. "We've always believed that defense wins championships and tonight it was our defense. It was two good defenses going at each other and ultimately we were lucky enough to be one basket ahead."
After falling behind by 11 points in the first quarter, Coach Folsom went to his pressure defense. MSU-Northern had no answer as the Ravens used their pressure to erase their deficit and pull ahead, 23-22, with five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The Ravens finished the quarter outscoring the Skylights 20-7 to take a 30-26 lead into the halftime break.
"It took us a little while to get settled in I thought, missing some shots and they were scoring pretty good hitting their shots," Coach Folsom said. "Things changed when we went to the press and that kind of helped get the pace of the game up more where we wanted it."
The Ravens maintained their lead through the end of the third quarter as they led 44-36 heading into the fourth quarter before the Skylights used a 12-point fourth quarter to force overtime.
Benedictine never trailed during the overtime period, and after MSU-Northern tied the game for the third time at 51 points with 2:35 left in the period the Ravens defense stepped up one more time as they turned away two Skylights shot attempt in the final seconds.
Chayla Rutledge scored a tournament high through three games with 22 points as she was the only Raven to reach in double figures. LaRanda Thomas added nine points off the bench, which held a 18-5 advantage over the Skylights.
"The girls that were all out on the floor at the end, were all girls that played in the tournament last year, so that was a big factor for us," Coach Folsom said. "They've got the experience of being here and they showed it with their confidence and composure out on the court."
Benedictine will take on overall No. 1 seed Our Lady of the Lakes at 10:45 a.m. on Friday as the Naismith Bracket's top seed earned a 82-52 win over tournament host William Woods University in their first-round game on Wednesday.
