SIOUX CITY, Iowa – (Box Score) In a topsy turvy quadrant of the 2015 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship,presented by State Farm, Briar Cliff (Iowa), seeded fifth, busted up the bracket with an upset of top-seeded Davenport (Mich.), the 2013 national runner-up. The Charger zone defense befuddled the Panther offensive attack in keying a 55-53 Briar Cliff victory.

Head coach Mike Power’s squad is headed to the national quarterfinals for the third time in the past four seasons. Davenport, previously unbeaten, exits the tournament with a final record of 31-1.

The Chargers (25-9) held the lead the entire way, fending off a Panther push in the second half. Slone Masters came through in the clutch with a triple from the right wing that bumped a three-point lead to six (54-48) with 2:08 left in the game. Briar Cliff then held on for dear life in the waning moments, breathing a sigh of relief when Jessi Corrick stole a Davenport inbounds pass with 3.5 seconds left.

Briar Cliff and Davenport combined to miss their first nine attempts from the field until Heather Haber opened up the lid with a corner trey for an early Charger lead. Davenport finally dropped in its first field goal at the 14:20 mark of the first half. The Panthers missed their first five shots and were one for their first nine. Williams’ squad never did solve the Briar Cliff zone, which forced Davenport to settle for long-range jumpers. It went only 4-for-31 from 3-point range.

A 15-5 run pushed the Briar Cliff lead from two to nine (27-15) with just over six minutes left in the half. Charger standout Masters took over the game during that stretch. Her attacking style resulted in her making 5 of 8 free throws in a span of less than a minute-in-a-half. She concluded the spurt by drilling a three from the right wing.

Davenport found life at the end of the first half with an 8-0 run to get within four (32-28). That momentum was short lived as the half’s final 30 seconds saw Masters drain two more free throws preceding Corrick’s runner in the lane to beat the buzzer. Briar Cliff led 36-28 at the break.

The Panther offense functioned best when it went through junior post Tiesha Stokes. On a morning when Davenport struggled mightily to knock down jump shots, Stokes converted on 6 of 8 shots inside and totaled a team high 17 points before fouling out with 4:42 left in the game. She and Daina Grazulis (12 points and 11 rebounds) provided solid frontcourt production.

Masters led the Chargers with 15 points. Corrick added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Briar Cliff will face another surprise quarterfinalist at 1 p.m. CDT on Saturday when it meets seventh-seeded Tabor (Kan.) (21-12). The Bluejays upset both the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in the bracket to reach the quarterfinals.