By Scott Barker, Communications and Sports Information Intern

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – (Box Score | Bracket) No. 5-seed Great Falls advances to the second round for the second-straight year as the Argos defeated No. 4-seed Central Methodist in first round action at the 2016 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship.

“It’s important to win one here,” said Great Falls head coach Bill Himmelberg. “The hardest thing to do is come in here and win, because everyone has been preparing for each other for a full week. A good team like Central Methodist is going to come in and give you match-up problems and they have really good players. Winning the first game, I think, is the hardest game of the tournament and then everyone is on equal ground with a little amount of time to prepare.”

Central Methodist (26-5), making its second championship appearance, jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead as DaJonee Hale made a 3-point shot followed by an Alayah Cooper-Johnson layup 1:25 into the game. Great Falls answered back with a 6-0 run capped by a basket by Erin Legel. The Eagles’ lead grew back to five after another layup by Cooper-Johnson with 2:39 left in the quarter. The Argos ended the quarter on a 6-3 run to lead by one (18-17) at the first intermission.

In the second quarter, Great Falls (23-10) saw its lead increase to three after a basket in the paint by Legel. That bucket sparked an 8-2 run that increased its lead to nine with 1:07 left in the first half. Central Methodist got back-to-back baskets by Hale to trim the deficit to four at the break.

Cooper-Johnson (12) and DaJonee Hale (14) combined for 26 of Central Methodist’s 28 first half points.

Morgan Grier got the Argos off and running in the second half, as she netted back-to-back 3-point field goals and upped the Great Falls lead to double digits at 10 (38-28). The Eagles connected on a free throw to cut the lead to seven with 3:18 left in the period.

The Argos led by seven-or-more points the entire fourth period until a layup by Lexie Moe cut the difference to five. The Argos went on a game-ending 7-0 run to defeat Central Methodist by 12, 70-58.

Central Methodist falls to 0-2 all-time in championship history. Hale led the Eagles with 24 points. She has scored at least 20 points in 16 games this season. Cooper-Johnson – who is averaging 19.5 points per game in her last two games, 7.8 points per game better than her season average (11.7) – poured in 17 points. Moe added 11 for the Eagles. Cooper-Johnson grabbed 16 boards and Moe recorded 10 rebounds.

The Eagles came into this game ranked No. 5 in the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage (36.6), but shot only 16.0 percent (4-of-25) from beyond the 3-point line. The Eagles bench were outscored 6-0 by the Argos bench.

Great Falls, also appearing in its second-ever national championship, was led in scoring by Erin Legel’s season-high tying 28 points. She also added eight rebounds and four assists. Morgan Grier netted 19 points, including a season-high tying with five 3-pointers. Whitney George recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds. She also defended the paint with five blocks.

Legel eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the 13th time this season. In four career games at the national championship, Legel is averaging 21.8 points per game. 

Great Falls advances to the second round and will take on Lyon (Ark.) on Friday at 6:15 p.m.