The Hastings College (Neb.) Broncos earned a spot opposite conference rival Concordia (Neb.) in the quarterfinal round of the NAIA Division II Women's National Basketball Tournament with an overtime win over the Shawnee State (Ohio) Bears 77-69 in the second round of the annual tournament.
Hastings and Shawnee State battled two a one point difference at halftime with Shawnee State getting a late basket by Abby Ballman just before the buzzer. The first half featured four ties and six lead changes with Shawnee State holding as much as a seven point lead in the half.
The Bears maintained the lead early in the second half and were up 35-30 on four straight Shawnee State points. Hastings proceeded to score the next five points and tied the game on a basket by Heather McKeon with 16:16 left in the game. The Bears weathered that first storm and led 44-41 after Mallory Albers completed a three-point play with 14:17 left in the game.
Hastings proceeded to outscore the American Mideast champion 7-0 and capped the run with a long three-point shot by McKeon at the 12:25 mark. Hastings never trailed again with Shawnee State getting back to even with 5:33 left at the 58-58 mark. Hastings increased the bulge to 64-60 with 1:47 left but a basket by Alison Meyer made it 64-62 with 1:31 left and after a missed Hastings free throw Meyer made two free throws with 00:08 left in regulation to force overtime.
Hastings struck first with a Kim Faimon three-point basket in the extra session and made their free throws down the stretch to extend the final score to 77-69.
Hastings advances to the quarterfinal round of the National Tournament for the third year in a row and will sport a 24-7 mark when they face Great Plains Athletic Conference rival Concordia at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 14. The two teams split their meetings in the regular season match-ups. Shawnee State finishes their year with a 31-1 record.
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