Division I Women's Basketball Championship Information
March
19, 2003
Contact: Roger Redmon
NAIA Media Operations
(731) 265-2016
Union (Tennessee) Holds Off Stubborn Langston (Oklahoma) 58-48
to Advance in NAIA Women’s Tourney
JACKSON,
Tenn. – Union
(Tennessee) University (34-2), the top seed in the fourth quarter of the NAIA
Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament, held off No. 8-seed
Langston University (Oklahoma) to post a 58-48 first-round victory
Wednesday night at Oman Arena.
After
Langston (25-9) scored six straight points to tie the game at 35-all early in
the second half, Union junior guard Jessica Henson keyed a 9-0 Lady Bulldog run
by scoring five points and dishing out a pair of assists. The Lady Lions crept
back to within three points (48-45) with 6:34 remaining on a driving lay-up by
freshman guard Natoshia Rouse, but the Lady Bulldogs answered with eight quick
points to turn back Langston’s upset bid. Six-foot-three senior center Allison
Harrison converted on back-to-back trips to ignite Union’s surge.
Union
survived despite shooting 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field and 3-of-16
(18.8 percent) from the three-point line. Langston was 18-of-62 (29 percent)
from the field, and the Lady Lions were 5-of-22 (22.7 percent) from behind the
three-point arc. Langston won the rebound battle, 44-39, but the Lady Lions
committed 21 turnovers.
Six-foot-two
junior forward Ginger Bryant led Union with 17 points and seven rebounds. Henson
finished with 14 points, and Harrison added 11. Freshman point guard Jennifer
Henson went scoreless in the game, but handed out a game-high five assists while
committing just one turnover.
Langston’s
6-foot-3 junior center, Cynthia Hogg, posted a double-double with ten points and
ten rebounds. Senior forward Kayla Smith narrowly missed reaching a
double-double. She finished with nine points and nine rebounds.
Union
advanced to Friday’s second round where the Lady Bulldogs will tangle with the
winner of the Georgetown College (Kentucky) – Oklahoma Christian University
game at 8 p.m. CST Friday, March 21 at Oman Arena.
-NAIA-
