MADISON, Wis. – There are no style points in basketball. Only results matter. The Edgewood College women's basketball earned the result they needed in a low-scoring slugfest with Aurora University. The Eagles battled past the Spartans 46-42 to clinch a NACC Tournament berth for the second consecutive season. In the Senior Day game, Mariah Hill became the ninth Eagle in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
Not many shots were falling in a defensive struggle with the Spartans. Hill opened the game by scoring her milestone points on the Edgewood College's (11-13, 10-9 NACC) opening possession and drilled a three-pointer for an early lead, but the Eagles would miss their next 13 shots from the field. Sammy Gander broke the string with a layup inside. Fortunately for the Eagles, Aurora University (7-17, 7-12 NACC) was having no better luck on their end of the floor. The two teams went into halftime with the Spartans leading 18-17.
Looking for a lift in the second half, head coach Casey Thousand found it in senior Courtney Spangler. Spangler hit a three-pointer to open the half and followed with a layup off an assist from Hill to get the Eagles offense in gear. However, the Eagles still trailed 30-29 before they made their biggest push of the game. Sierra Jiran and Gander followed a pair of Rachel Pope free throws to put the Eagles ahead by five. Then, two free throws by Zoey Dougherty and a slick crossover jumper by Jazim Little completed a 10-0 Eagles run to put the home team in front for good.
Aurora answered with four straight points, but another basket by Gander and free throws from Gander and Hannah Menzia pushed the margin back to 43-34 with 2:35 left to play. Pope converted three out of four free throws in the final minute to seal the game.
Pope finished with a team-high 12 points, thanks to a 7-for-8 effort at the free throw line. Hill scored all nine of her points on Senior Day in the first half, while Gander scored a career-high nine points as well. Hill also led the Eagles in rebounds with nine and assists with three. Spangler scored five points and pulled down six rebounds in her final game in the Edgedome.
Shannon Koski went 6-for-20 from the field and scored 18 points to lead Aurora. Morgan Ricketts had 12 rebounds in the first half and finished with a game-high 19 boards. The Spartans were just 3-for-21 from the three-point line.
With the victory, Edgewood College secures their place in the NACC Tournament. The Eagles are currently in sixth place and could move as high as fifth following their regular season finale next Tuesday at Lakeland College.
