DE PERE / MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- St. Norbert College and Wisconsin Lutheran College both posted victories Friday evening to advance to the championship game of the 2026 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Women's Basketball Tournament.
Top-seeded Wisconsin Lutheran dispatched fourth-seeded Milwaukee School of Engineering, 67-41, while second-seeded St. Norbert needed overtime to sideline third-seeded Aurora University, 71-70. The championship game is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday, March 1, at the Time of Grace Center on the campus of Wisconsin Lutheran College. It will be the fifth consecutive meeting in in the tournament final between the Warriors and Green Knights.
#1 Wisconsin Lutheran 67, #4 MSOE 41
Wisconsin Lutheran (22-5) shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field compared to just 32.0 percent (16-of-50) for MSOE and held significant advantages in rebounds (36-29) and points in the paint (28-16) en route to the victory.
The Warriors led 14-7 after one quarter and 39-28 at the break after a high-scoring second quarter. Both teams went cold in the third quarter, however, combining to shoot just 1-for-25 from the field. WLC was able to extend its lead to 45-30, though, on the strength of six made free throws. The hosts then outscored the Raiders, 22-11, over the final 10 minutes while shooting nearly 60 percent (57.1 percent; 8-of-14) from the field to set the final margin.
Margie Stevens and Kenly Frey both scored 15 points to lead Wisconsin Lutheran, with Stevens matching Jayden Hill's team-best eight rebounds. Abby Cole added 13 points.
Lana Kerley posted game-highs in both points (19) and rebounds (nine) to lead the Raiders (18-7), while Shelby Glodowski scored 10 points off the bench.
#2 St. Norbert 71, #3 Aurora 70 (OT)
NACC Player of the Year Taylor Thiry hit a layup with 8.5 seconds left in regulation to force overtime against third-seeded Aurora, then provided the game-winning point on a free throw with 21.6 seconds to play to send the Green Knights (18-7) to a fifth-straight NACC Tournament championship game.
After Thiry's free throw, Aurora (21-6) had one final opportunity to steal the victory. A loose ball in the final seconds ended up in a scramble in front of the Aurora bench, with Krystyna Manzanrez's desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer falling just short.
Aurora led virtually from start-to-finish in the first half, taking the lead on an Alina Anderson 3-pointer just 34 seconds in, and were up by 14 as late as the 1:22 mark of the second quarter before settling for a 35-23 lead at the break.
The Green Knights outscored the Spartans, 22-12, in the third quarter to cut the deficit to just two points entering the fourth quarter. An 11-3 run midway through the frame capped by a Rose Hahn 3-pointer put St. Norbert up six, but Aurora's Kylie Fischbach scored five straight points and corralled the offensive rebound that set up a turnaround jumper by Manzanarez to put the Spartans back in front. Hahn and Fischbach traded layups and Manzanarez hit one of two free throws with 13 seconds left to give Aurora a two-point edge before Thiry hit the game-tying layup. An Aurora offensive foul on the next trip down the floor gave St. Norbert one final chance in regulation to get the win but Thiry wasn't able to connect on a layup.
Neither team was able to break away in the extra session, but the Spartans held a two-point lead after Anderson hit one of two free throws with 1:27 to play. A Marnie Kahl putback with 50 seconds left tied the game at 70-70. Reese Sellers was able to pick up a quick steal for the Green Knights, but Hahn's 3-point attempt was off the mark. Fortunately for St. Norbert, Thiry was able to grab the offensive rebound and draw a foul, which sent her to free throw line for the game-winning point.
Thiry led St. Norbert with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds. Hahn added 16 points while Olivia Conway had 14 and Sellers added 11 off the bench.
Manzanarez scored a game-high 29 points to lead Aurora, while Fischbach added 15.