After coming from behind to win their semifinal game on Saturday, the Gorillas once again found themselves trailing at halftime on Monday. The Mustangs led by 12 to start the second half. It wasn’t until five and a half minutes remained in the fourth quarter that PSU tied the game, and then they took the lead with just under two minutes to play. Southwest Minnesota got within one point after that, but a pair of free throws from junior Maycee James and a blocked shot from senior Karenna Gerber sealed the game for PSU.
Head Coach Amanda Davied credited her team’s confidence and composure in the high-pressure moments to their practice, hard work and experience.
““When you’ve worked that hard, you will hold the rope longer and you will let it burn,” she said. “And you will not give up because you’ve worked so hard on something. And you will just wait until the tide turns, and they have done that.”
Overall, the Gorillas shot just slightly better than the Mustangs, 46.2 percent from the field compared to 42.7 percent. They went just 1-14 shots from the three-point line while Southwest Minnesota went 8-21, but the Gorillas forced fouls and got to the free throw line, making 24-29.
Gerber led PSU with her third straight double-double, finishing with 34 points and 10 rebounds. She was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Senior Grace Pyle was also named to the all-tournament team, and scored 20 points against the Mustangs. 18 of her points came in the second half.
“Some nights it’s not your night,” she said. “Some it's not your night but you got to get it going, and tonight was one of those nights. Seeing the ball go through the hoop was what I needed.”
Southwest Minnesota was led by senior Bri Stoltzman who had 31 points. Behind her was junior Audrey Swanson who had 27, as well as 12 rebounds.
Seedings for the Elite Eight will be announced March 18.
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