Union University’s women’s basketball team continued its magical tournament run in South Dakota after holding off the nation’s second overall seed, the Carson-Newman Lady Eagles, for a 73-70 win behind yet another dominant performance by Chelsey Shumpert.
The Lady Bulldogs rode hot shooting and phenomenal team defense to a dominant first half. Shumpert played one of her best and most efficient halfs she’s had all season. The highlights of the half were her three pull-up threes from behind the NBA three-point line en route to 15 first-half points.
Perhaps the most impressive thing Union did was on the defensive end, though. The Lady Eagles averaged over 92 points per game going into the contest, but Union’s defense held them to their second-lowest scoring output of the season.
“I’m extremely proud of the effort on defense down the stretch for our team,” Union head coach Mark Campbell told UU Athletics. “We were able to get some key stops late, which we had not gotten most of the game.”
Union went into halftime with a 43-27 lead, but Carson-Newman nearly flipped the script in the second half. The shots started falling for them and stopped falling for the Lady Bulldogs. After the Lady Eagles tied the score at 70, Union knocked down three free throws and didn’t give up any points in the last two minutes. Bria Gaines, who entered the game when starter Kyvin Goodin-Rogers fouled out late in the fourth, blocked a shot from behind with less than 20 seconds left before Sara Lytle came up with a steal to clinch Union’s spot in the Final Four.
“They are very well-coached and we knew they would have a rally in them,” Campbell said. “I’m just thankful to have another couple of days to coach this group of players.”
Union will play Central Missouri on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. with a National Championship appearance on the line. Whoever wins that game will likely face Ashland, the undefeated reigning NCAA Division II Champions, on Friday to try to end their Division II-record 72 game win streak.
