SIOUX CITY, Iowa --- Tied 28-28 at halftime, Briar Cliff University (IA) went on a 23-5 tear to open the second half on its way to a 62-53 victory over Cardinal Stritch University and a spot among the final four teams at the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship Saturday night.

The win marks the third time that Briar Cliff will move on to the semifinal round in as many appearances even though the Chargers' last nationals showing was way back in 2002. Both that year and in 2001 they made it to the round of four finalists before exiting.

Cardinal Stritch, which came into the game riding an 18-game winning streak, had trouble finding its shot for much of the game, especially in the nearly 14-minute stretch in which it managed just the five points. The Wolves, however, did catch fire late in the contest going on a 14-3 run over the next 2:47 to trail by only seven, 54-47, with 3:20 to play.

 

The Wolves (30-2) used a hot hand from outside (14-of-27 from three-point range) and stellar free throw shooting (20-of-24), not to mention three double-figure scorers to advance to the Elite Eight. Senior guard Michelle Stelloh topped the list with 27 points on 6-of-10 shooting from long range, while Renet Skorusa authored her second double-double of the tournament in as many games with her 15 points and game-high 17 rebounds. Brittney Daum, who was 5-for-7 from three-point range, added another 19 points.

JACKSON, Tenn. - Saint Xavier University head coach Bob Hallberg and his No. 2-ranked Cougars have received one of the four coveted No. 1 seeds in next week's 2010 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championships in Jackson, Tenn. The 32-team, single-elimination tournament is divided into four, eight-team brackets with teams seeded one through eight based off the final NAIA Ratings Poll. The Cougars will face No. 8 seed Evangel University (Mo.) in first-round action on Thursday, March 18 with a scheduled 6:15 p.m. tip-off at Oman Arena in Jackson.

"In a tournament like this one, every team has difficulty analyzing its opponent because they are spread out all over the country and not on national television," said Hallberg. "I think it is important for our team to make sure we go into the tournament playing at a high level and the rest will take care of itself. We know what we are capable of accomplishing and you just have to take it one game at a time."

The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference will be well represented at the 2010 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Championship with half of its membership having earned bids to the 73^rd annual event, which takes place March 17-23 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

No fewer than three of the six CCAC Division I institutions will make up part of the 32-team field, including CCAC Tournament champion Saint Xavier University, which earned an automatic berth by virtue of its thrilling 92-90 overtime victory against Robert Morris University in the league tournament title game on March 6.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa --- Cardinal Stritch University closed out the second day of action at the 19th Annual State Farm-NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena with a 79-64 win over the College of Idaho.

Cardinal Stritch (29-2) snapped a three-year first-round losing skid with the victory and moved into the second round for the fifth time in 14 trips to the national championship. The Wolves will face Davenport University (Mich.) in Friday's nightcap at 8:45 p.m. The Coyotes' season comes to a close with a record of 21-8 in their fifth trip to Sioux City.

The Wolves were lights out in the first half hitting 18-of-35 shots, including three treys, to jump out to a 43-31 lead. Twelve of Renet Skorusa's 15 points came during the opening 20 minutes, along with 10 of her 16 rebounds. Cardinal Stritch's hot shooting carried over into the second half, firing at a 44.8 percent clip, knocking down 13 buckets and three more long-range shots. Points in the paint came easily for the Wolves outscoring the Coyotes 40-14 down low.