Strong Second Halves Move Florida National, Washington Adventist Into CAC Women’s Basketball Championship Semifinals
Strong second half performances propelled No. 3-seed Florida National University and No. 4-seed Washington Adventist University (Maryland) to first-round victories Thursday evening in the Continental Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championships, being hosted at Georgia Gwinnett College's Convocation Center in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
FNU (12-13) came back from a one-point first-quarter deficit to defeat No. 6-seed Morris College (South Carolina) while Washington Adventist overcame an even bigger hurdle, winning after trailing by seven points at halftime to Carolina University (North Carolina).
Both winners advance to the tournament's semifinal round on Saturday, February 28, with Florida National facing the No. 2-seed Haskell Indian Nations University (Kansas) and Washington Adventist playing No. 1-seed Georgia Gwinnett College. Game times will be announced later by CAC officials.
Here are recaps from Thursday's exciting first-round games:
Game 1: No. 3 Florida National University 77, No. 6 Morris College 69
No. 3-seed Florida National University outscored No. 6-seed Morris College over the middle two quarters to score the first round victory over a feisty Hornets squad. The Conquistadors found themselves trailing 16-15 after the first 10 minutes before putting 20 points on the scoreboard in the second quarter to take a 35-30 halftime edge. The team then pulled away with a strong third period, taking a 52-40 advantage. Morris slowly cut into the deficit and trailed by seven points on two occasions, the latest being 60-53 with 6:17 remaining in the game. However, Florida National withstood the charge and eventually pulled away again to capture the victory.
The Conquistadors forced 20 turnovers, converting them into 35 points.
Maria De Gracia led a balanced Florida National offensive attack with 18 points, while having nine rebounds. Kaylee Llanos followed closely with 17 points and Jaylin Laguna collected 16 points. Valeria Cifuentes added nine points to the winning margin.
Jada Teasley had game-high scoring honors with 19 points for Morris (11-14). She also added 12 rebounds. Azyah Kirkland also contributed a double-double performance with 11 points and 12 rebounds. The team had two other double-digit scorers: Yorie Watson with 12 points and Alya Grane with 11 points.
Game 2: No. 4 Washington Adventist University 80, No. 5 Carolina University 61
No. 4-seed Washington Adventist University scored 31 third-quarter points to rally from a halftime deficit in defeating No. 5 seed Carolina University 80-61 during Thursday's first-round contest.
After trailing 35-28 at halftime, the Shock responded with a 31-point third quarter that shifted the momentum entirely. The team followed with 21 points in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
WAU led after the first six minutes of the game by a 6-0 margin before the Bruins came back with vengeance. Carolina scored 14 consecutive points in the first quarter to lead 19-12 after the opening 10-minute period.
The game featured key three-pointers, turnovers, multiple lead changes early, and strong rebounding efforts from both teams.
Washington Adventist was led by Isabela Lujan-Gonzales with a game-high 20 points. Angleen Mulero had a double-double performance with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Heather Middleton also posted a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Angelina Jordan and Mya Smith led Carolina with each having 14 points. Dearia Page helped manage the offense with six assists. MeiLani Patterson grabbed 18 rebounds to go along with her 11 points.