Rogers State Survives Shorter Second Half Surge

FRANKFORT, Ky. – (Box Score; Coach Interview) With 18 seconds remaining, Sasha Barnes connected on her only 3-pointer of the night to send Rogers State (Okla.) to its first-ever quarterfinal appearance, following a 64-59 victory against Shorter (Ga.) at the 2012 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship presented by Kentuckytourism.com. The event is being held at the Frankfort Convention Center in Frankfort, Ky.

With the victory, Rogers State improves to 22-11 and survives to play another round as the Hillcats are now matched up with local favorite Georgetown (Ky.). Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Despite trailing by as many as 18 (46-28) with less than 13 minutes in regulation, Shorter refused to play dead. The Eagles, much like they did in the first round against Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), rattled off an 18-4 run spanning seven minutes to cut the Hillcat lead to 48-46, the closest margin since the 15:55 mark of the first half.

However, Rogers State went 5-for-5 from the line, including a 3-point play by Sierra Cornwell in the final four minutes, before Barnes delivered the dagger.

The Hillcats finished the night shooting 41.7 percent (25-of-60) from the field and 10-for-13 (76.9 percent) at the foul line. Logan Froese paced the squad with 17 points, while Barnes added 11 points and four assists. Gianna Woods recorded a game-high 14 rebounds.

Robyn Foster led Shorter with 18 points, while Megan Queen and Damisha Moore added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Lady Hawks ended the game shooting 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field, including 57.7 percent (15-of-26) in the second half.

Shorter finishes the season with a 28-7 record.