SIOUX CITY, Iowa – (Box Score) It didn’t take long for the madness to take hold of the 2015 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship, presented by State Farm. In the tournament’s opening game, seventh-seeded Tabor (Kan.) upset No. 2 Marian (Ind.), 53-50, inside the Tyson Events Center on Wednesday morning.

Champions of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season, Tabor (20-12) used big plays from Tonisha Dean in crunch time and a solid defensive effort to advance to the second round for the first time since 2007. Meanwhile, the Crossroads League champion Knights ended their season at 28-6 overall.

In a wire-to-wire contest, the Bluejays had to wait until the final buzzer sounded to celebrate. With the game tied 49-49, Tabor’s Dean banked in a shot in the lane with :26.5 left. Marian’s Jessica Almeida drew a foul and made one of two free throws on the ensuing possession. Following a pair of free throws by Dean, Marian came up empty and was forced to foul with less than five seconds remaining.

The Knights got one final 3-point heave up before the buzzer sounded on their 2014-15 season. Marian goes home early after shooting 34.7 percent from the field and going 11-for-18 (.611) from the free throw line. Star guard Lakan Hasser-Smith was held to eight points on 3-for-10 shooting and the Knights were limited to 28 points fewer than their season average.

Tabor, now 4-5 all-time on the national stage, got just enough offense from the trio of Dean (15 points), Tena Loewen (12 points) and Kaleigh Troxell (nine points). The Bluejays overcame their own shooting struggles – 38.9 percent from the field and 35.7 percent (5-for-14) from the free throw line.

Tabor turned a tight one-point halftime lead into a 41-31 advantage by going on a 16-5 run. The spurt included four treys, including two from Troxell. But the Knights came all the way back, tying the score at 49 with two Almeida free throws that completed an 11-2 run. That’s when Dean stepped up in the clutch for the Bluejays.

Tabor has advanced to play at 8:30 a.m. CDT on Friday. It will take on the winner between third-seeded Southern Oregon (26-4) and sixth-seeded Robert Morris (Ill.) (21-6).