MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Fourth-seeded Concordia University Wisconsin and sixth-seeded Edgewood College eked out a pair of two-point victories Tuesday to advance to the semifinal round of the 2023 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Women's Basketball Tournament.
CUW edged Lakeland, 74-72, in a rematch of the regular-season finale between the two schools, while Edgewood topped Aurora, 56-54, on the road.
Edgewood advances to face top-seeded St. Norbert in the semifinals, while Concordia Wisconsin will meet second-seeded Wisconsin Lutheran. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. Thursday evening, weather permitting.
Concordia Wisconsin 74, Lakeland 72 (Box Score)
Emily Hafemann scored a game-high 35 points, but it was her outlet pass in the waning seconds that set up a streaking Lindsey Lonigro for the game-winning layup at the buzzer.
Lakeland (14-12) jumped out to a 10-point second quarter lead and led by as many as nine in the third quarter, but the Falcons (16-10) eventually ovecame the deficit and built a nine-point lead with under four minutes to play. The Muskies battled back, though, to tie the game at 72-72 on a Kacey Gardner jumper with six seconds left.
Hafemann was 10-of-16 from the field and 14-of-15 at the free-throw line while pulling down six rebounds and dishing out five assists. For Lonigro, it was her only basket of the game. Aubrey Buchholz added 16 points and seven boards off the bench, while Reagan Obry had 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Ellie Felsinger scored 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting in just 24 minutes to lead Lakeland, while Gardner finished with 22 points and five rebounds.
Edgewood 56, Aurora 54 (Box Score)
Visiting Edgewood overcame a 10-point deficit with 3:13 to play in the third quarter to defeat third-seeded Aurora.
Over a period of 10 minutes and 14 seconds spanning the third and fourth quarters, the Eagles outscored the Spartans, 20-6, to completely erase the deficit and take a 52-48 lead.
The teams traded free throws down the stretch before Aurora's Macy Kocen drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 54-54 with 41 seconds to play. Edgewood exhausted the entire shot clock on its next trip down the floor with Emma Klein hitting on a 10-foot jumper that danced around the rim before dropping through the cylinder as the shot clock expired.
The Spartans used a timeout to advance the ball to the front court and had a handful of chances beneath the rim, but Crystal Rios was unable to get off a final putback attempt before the game clock expired.
Vivian Guerrero posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead Edgewood, while Kenzie Senffner chipped in with 10 points and eight boards.
Kocen was the only Spartan in double figures with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Selena Vargas, Sam Barrett, Rios, and Gabrielle Wolff each had seven points, with Vargas adding a team-high eight rebounds and three assists.
The last time a No. 3 seed fell on its home floor was 2017 when sixth-seeded Alverno defeated Benedictine, 64-63.
2023 NACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
First Round ~ Tuesday, Feb. 21
No. 6 Edgewood def. No. 3 Aurora, 56-54
No. 4 Concordia Wisconsin def. No. 5 Lakeland, 74-72
Semifinals ~ Thursday, Feb. 23
No. 4 Concordia Wisconsin at No. 2 Wisconsin Lutheran, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Edgewood at No. 1 St. Norbert, 7 p.m.
Final ~ Saturday, Feb. 25
Semifinal winners at higher seed, time TBC