Georgetown College’s Tigers make it a mission to work harder than any team they play.
That hard work has taken them somewhere no Georgetown women’s basketball team has been before – the Fab Four of the NAIA Div. I Women’s Basketball National Championship.
Georgetown (24-9) defeated Rogers State (Okla.) 70-63 in the quarterfinals Saturday night at the Frankfort Convention Center.
The Tigers will take on Union in the semifinals Monday at 8 p.m.
“All year long we’ve said we’ll never be outworked,” Georgetown coach Andrea McCloskey said. “There may be more talented teams, but we’re never going to be outworked.”
GC needed that mindset in Saturday’s game with Rogers State (22-12) staying close the whole way.
It was the Hillcats who scored the last four points of the first half to take a 35-32 lead at the break, and they outscored Georgetown 7-4 in the first four minutes of the second half for a 42-36 advantage.
That’s when the Tigers went to work.
Over the next four-plus minutes Georgetown outscored the Hillcats 17-3 to take a 53-45 lead with 9:38 left in the game.
During that run freshman Angie Lawrence scored 11 points with four free throws, two layups and a 3-pointer.
“Angie Lawrence shot the winning shot to win the state tournament last year for Rockcastle County,” McCloskey said. “She thrives in games like this.”
Lawrence finished the game hitting 7 for 8 from the field, including 2 for 3 on 3-pointers, and she made 11 of 13 free throw attempts to pour in a game-high 27 points.
The Tigers also got a lift from another freshman, Dev King, who had nine points and five rebounds.
Rogers State’s Logan Froese finished with 21 points, going 9 for 13 from the field, and teammate Gianna Woods had 14 rebounds as the Hillcats held a 42-37 rebounding advantage.
Froese scored 13 points in the first half and had the first basket of the second half. She was held to six points the rest of the way.
“We went with a zone defense,” McCloskey said. “We had all five girls helping with No. 10 (Froese). She’s a very good player. She likes contact, and we tried to take that away and let her move around in the zone a little bit.”
Georgetown sophomore Andrea Howard, a Franklin County graduate, had six points, two rebounds and an assist.
“I’m so excited,” she said. “This is awesome; it’s unreal.
“Angie cashed in big time for us,” Howard said. “It was a total team effort, and we’ve gone farther than any Georgetown team has been.
“After we got the first game over we had a feeling about this, and it carried through tonight.”
ROGERS STATE (63) – Logan Froese 21, Gianna Woods 6, Leah Smith 10, Sierra Cornwell 9, Rician Walker 2, Ariani Silva 8, Larrielle Giles 3, Madison Harris 4.
GEORGETOWN (70) – Lizza Jonas 7, Andrea Howard 6, Jessica Waddle 10, Devon Golden 11, Angie Lawrence 27, Dev King 9.
Union 74, Biola 52
Union (Tenn.) came out strong in Saturday’s final quarterfinal, kept the pressure on and rolled into the Fab Four.
Union will play Georgetown in the second semifinal game Monday.
Union (34-2) held Biola (Calif.) to 25 percent shooting in the first half and 29.5 percent for the game.
The Lady Bulldogs scored the first basket of the game and never trailed. The closest Biola (23-11) got after that was one point, and Union’s largest lead was the final margin of 22 points.
Union shot over 50 percent in both halves and 53 percent for the game.
UU was led in scoring by Lavanda Ross with 17 points, and Mildred Olumasi was in double figures with 13. The Lady Bulldogs had 10 players score.
Charrise Reece and Amy Freet both scored 14 points to lead the Eagles.
Union outrebounded Biola 38-30, and Olumasi had a game-high nine rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs.
UNION (74) – Shelby Ashcraft 8, Mildred Olumasi 13, LaTesa McLaughlin 7, Rebecca Sharpe 6, Lavanda Ross 17, Paige Parker 3, Mrashi Karumba 2, Amy Philamlee 5, Astrid Huttemann 9, Adenike Dawodu 4.
BIOLA (52) – Chelsea Hill 2, Adijat Adams 7, Lauren Gustafson 3, Emily Drews 2, Charrise Reece 14, Becca DeVere 10, Amy Freet 14.
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