Friends Earns Revenge Over Broncos
Story by Nikki Sherrill, NAIA Media Coordinator
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – (Box Score) The two already met this year in an early season match-up which gave Hastings a 61-55 win. However, No. 4 Friends (Kan.) did their research and re-adjusted their game plan to help avenge the loss and advance in the 2017 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship after a 63-57 win over No. 5 Hastings (Neb.). Friends and Hastings now split their season of contests on the year.
Improving to 28-5 on the year, Friends takes the win over the Broncos and advances to the second-round. The Falcons will match-up with No. 1 Saint Xavier (Ill.) (31-2), who breezed past No. 8 IU Kokomo (Ind.) (21-13) earlier in the day. This is only the second, second-round advancement made by Friends in program history. The Falcons now hold a 2-6 all-time record in seven appearances at the national championship.
Hastings was the team who jumped out of the gates with the most energy as they went up 5-0 quickly, forcing a Friends timeout. After that timeout and calming of the nerves, the Falcons found their game to set the pace for the remainder of the contest. The largest lead in the game was in favor of the Falcons when they hit a 16-point margin at the 4:48 mark in the third quarter. Hastings was able to pull with six points at the 3:30 mark in the game, but ultimately Friends earned too many second-chance points to help advance their season.
The Falcons were led by Lexi Evans who netted 20 points and earned six rebounds. Only three Friends’ players earned double-digits in the game – Evans, Yowanna Posey (19) and Shann Sellers (15). As a team, Friends went 22-of-51 from the field, good for .431 percent.
Hastings was led by sophomore MaKenzie Willicott who finished with a strong game herself at 18 points and eight rebounds. The Broncos, as a team, earned 31 rebounds and went 22-of-51 from the field and connected on only two from long-range.
The three-time national champion and one of the programs with the best record in the national championship, Hastings falls to 35-14 in the event. In their 17th appearance, the Broncos lose in first-round for the second-straight season.
