Oakland City University Athletics recently issued the following announcement.
Regional Championship Ends With Mighty Oaks Outlasting Asbury Eagles
The 2022 National Christian College Athletic Association Mideast women's basketball regional tournament ended on Saturday, with the host Oakland City University outlasting a strong comeback from the top-seeded Eagles of Asbury University, 93-92.
After OCU opened up a 24-4 lead after eight minutes of play in the opening quarter, Asbury connected on their last three shots, all from three point range, to close the gap to 26-13 heading into the second period. Both teams ramped up the scoring in the second frame, but OCU held a 57-48 halftime advantage. The Oaks responded in the third period, leading 76-61 with just ten minutes to go. Oakland City saw their lead melt to just seven, at 78-71, with less than two minutes gone in the final quarter. The game saw its first tie at 84-84 at the 3:04 mark on a three-point basket by AU's Trinity Shearer. The Oaks scored the next three points, but Shearer again tied the game with 1:31 remaining.
Asbury took its first lead on a free throw by Haleigh Releford, 88-87, with 38 seconds, then increased it with a pair of foul shots by Shearer with 0:22 remaining. a quick layup by OCU's Jalaya Dowell with 12 ticks to go cut the lead to one, but Asbury immediately responded with an Autumn Herriford layup three seconds later. With just three seconds left, Taylor Dillard made a running layup, cutting the lead to one at 92-91. After the inbounds pass, Marissa Austin nabbed the ball and passed to Monesjia Harvey, who laid the ball in at the buzzer to give the Oaks the championship.
The win gives the Oaks a spot in the NCCAA National Championship field for the first time since 2009, and the first under second year head coach FahKara Hawkins. It will be OCU's 14th appearance, with their highest finish coming in 2006, when they finished as the national runner-up as the second seed to the fourth seed Bethel University Pilots, 64-48.
Oakland City, the number three seed, advanced to the championship game after outlasting the Eagles of Alice Lloyd College, the tournament's second seed, in the semifinal matchup thanks to a pair of free throws by Dillard with eight seconds left on the clock. A pair of deflections later and the Oaks capped off a 66-65 victory. Asbury cruised into the finals by knocking off fourth-seeded Kentucky Christian University 89-64, setting up a rematch of the River States Conference Tournament matchup from a year ago, when AU ended OCU's season with an 82-72 victory in Wilmore, Kentucky.
Emilee Hope, who scored 11 points against Alice Lloyd, led the way for the Oaks in scoring, pouring home 29 points, on 11-18 shooting, including 7-11 from three point range. Jalaya Dowell added 24 counters, making a perfect 12-12 from the field, following her 3-16 effort for seven points against ALC. Dillard added 15 counters, one less than her previous night's total, making 6-15 shots to go with a team high eight assists. Harvey grabbed a team best eight rebounds, while Dowell nabbed seven.
Herriford paced the Asbury Eagles, scoring 26 points, on 10-13 shooting, including 5-6 from beyond the arc. Shearer and Releford each scored 20, while Sarah Dennison added 12 points and a game high nine rebounds. Herriford handed out a game high nine assists, while Shearer picked up four steals, with Dennison blocking three shots, both game highs.
As a team, the Oaks connected on 50.6% (39-77) of their shots, including 47.6% (10-21) from three point range. Asbury made 34-76 (44.7%) from the field, going 14-39 (35.9%) from long range. OCU made 5-6 (83.3%) from the foul line, compared to 10-16 (62.5%) for the visitors.
Overall, OCU hauled in 50 rebounds, 17 more than Asbury's total of 33, including a 15-11 edge on the offensive glass. The Oaks handed out 25 assists while turning the ball over 19 times, compared to 25 assists and 13 turnovers for the Eagles.
Seedings and matchups for the NCCAA National Tournament, hosted by Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana, will be released after all the region tournaments have concluded. The tournament begins with a coaches meeting on Monday, March 14, at 9:00 pm EST, with the first game scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 16, at 8:30 am eastern time.
Original source can be found here.
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