Starters come up clutch in 67-61 win over MidAmerica Nazarene in Heart Semifinal
DUBUQUE, Iowa - In a rematch of the 2021 Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament, the Clarke University women's basketball team rallied from a first half deficit to beat MidAmerica Nazarene University 67-61 at the Kehl Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Pioneers came out swinging early on in the game as they shot 60 percent on 9-of-15 shooting from the field 3-for-5 from three point range to lead 21-13 after the opening 10 minutes.
The second quarter was crucial for CU to keep it close as they outscored MNU 18-11 to pull within one at the break as the Pioneers' shooting came slightly back down to earth at 30 percent on 3-of-10 shooting from the field after their hot start in the first.
MidAmerica Nazarene hung around in the second half but Clarke made the necessary plays to gain the lead and hang on through the final stages of the game and pull out a 36-29 second half advantage.
"This game brought our postseason fight out of us," head coach Courtney Boyd said. "Once we made a defensive adjustment we were able to settle in and get stops, then that helps the flow of our offense."
It was a highly competitive game on the defensive end of both sides of the floor but the Pride starters broke through in the game, scoring 65 of the team's 67 points led by Nicole McDermott's 19 points on 6-of-17 (35.3%) shooting from the field and 3-for-6 (50%) from three point range. McDermott added a team-high eight rebounds as she scored 11 of her 19 points in the first half.
Forwards Tina Ubl and Emma Kelchen scored 17 and 12 respectively as Ubl mixed an inside and outside game to provide one of her bigger offensive games of the season shooting 7-of-10 overall and 2-of-3 from three point range.
Though guards Giana Michels and Skylar Culbertson only combined for 17 points, both hit clutch shots in the fourth quarter as they scored all 17 of those points in the fourth.
With 7:54 and 7:07 left in the game, Culbertson hit three pointers to put the Pride up eight and 10 respectively after the senior didn't even attempt a shot in the quafterfinal game against Evangel. Michels, who dealt with foul trouble after picking up three fouls in the first half, had the back breaker for the Pioneers as she hit a layup through a foul with 49 seconds left to put Clarke up 62-56.
"Today was another good test of our resilience and we came together as a team to get the job done," Boyd said.
With the win, Clarke women's basketball will host the Heart Tournament Championship game at the Kehl Center on Tuesday against the winner of Benedictine College or Central Methodist University at 6:00 p.m. CT.