NASHVILLE, Tennessee - On Thursday, the quarterfinals of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championships got going in Nashville, Tennessee on the campus of the top seed and regular-season champion, Trevecca Nazarene University.

GAME ONE (Box Score)
In the first game of the conference tournament, the tournament (almost) had its first upset as #8 Central State University battled #1 Trevecca. IN the first half, Iniqua Snell led all scorers with 19 points on 9-12 shooting for Central State. As a team, they shot over 44%, while TNU struggled at 32%. Central State held a 38-34 advantage over the top seed.

In the second half, the game remained close as CSU led 44-38. However, TNU used a 6-0 run to tie the game at 44 and didn’t look back as they advanced to the semifinals, 77-63. The Trojans outscored Central State 33-19 to close out the contest.

Paige Baugher scored a team-high 16 points, while Anna Mitchell and Sarah Raby joined her in double-figures for a balanced attack with 15 and 13 points respectively. Snell led the game in scoring with 23 points, while Shakeira Lang added 10. The biggest difference in the second was the change in shooting percentages as the two teams ended the game with similar percentages - 36.6% for Central and 35.2% for Trevecca.  TNU rallied behind its performance at the line, where they went 20-23 compared to the Marauders going only 9-13.

GAME TWO (Box Score)
In the second game of the afternoon session, #5 Ursuline College and #4 Davis & Elkins battled back and forth throughout the game. In the first half, D&E led by as many as eight points early, but the Arrows fought back to tie the game going into the half, 44-44. In the second half, Ursuline utilized that momentum to push the lead to five points early in the half. With less than ten minutes left, Ursuline made a push and grew their lead to 16 with 7:40 remaining.

David & Elkins was able to chip away, cutting the lead to single digits behind a 9-0 run, but Ursuline survived the stretch and secured the 89-79 win. For Ursuline, Tajanee Wells led all scorers with 31 points. Emma Ricketts, Laney Lewis, and Brianna Woods joined Wells in double figures with 18, 13, and 11 points respectively. D&E was led by the scoring duo of Stephanie Wooten and Jorden Lykes, who scored 21 and 19 points. Ashley Bowles added 14. The Arrows received a big effort on the boards as Wells and Laney Lewis each had nine, and Ricketts grabbed eight. Lykes had a team-high 14 boards to record the games only double-double.

Ursuline advances to the semifinals, where they will take on top seed and host Trevecca Nazarene. The game will tip off on Friday evening, March 7 at 5:00 p.m. (central) as the first of two semifinal contests. The winner advances to the finals on Saturday, March 8 at 2:00 p.m.   

GAME THREE (Box Score)
In the first game of the evening session, #3 Kentucky Wesleyan cruised to a 79-44 win over #6 Ohio Valley. The game looked like it would be a battle throughout as KWC held a slim 11-8 lead midway through the first half, but utilized a 24-8 run to gain a comfortable advantage. The Panthers carried the lead into half, 50-25.

The second half played a little more even as KWC controlled possession with the double-digit lead. The Panthers were led by Karly Rhoads, the G-MAC Player of the Year, who led the way with a game-high 19 points. T’Essence Phelps and Jordanne Gambill joined Rhoads in double-figures with 14 and 12 points. Ohio Valley received 15 points from Ghameerah McCullers in the loss.

Kentucky Wesleyan advances to the semifinals where they await an opponent. The Panthers will face the winner of the Cedarville-Alderson Broaddus game tipping off at 8:30 p.m. (central). The semifinal game will take place on Friday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Nashville.

GAME FOUR (Box Score)
In the final quarterfinal contest of the day, #2 Cedarville advanced with little trouble, defeating #7 Alderson Broaddus, 75-48. After a slow start in the first half in which Cedarville  shot only 29.4%, the Lady Jackets still held a 35-23. CU took advantage of 11 free throws made, compared to just a pair for ABU to build the first half lead.

In the second half, Cedarville improved, shooting 46.4% and made 11 more free throws, to secure the win - outscoring the Battlers 40-25 in the second half. First half scoring leader Kayla Jenerette ended the contest with 19 points, but Danielle Spiliotis led the way with 20 points. She added seven rebounds, while Lauryn Robinson had a team-high eight rebounds, including four offensive.

AB received 18 points from Sydney Shaffer in the loss, as she recorded four buckets from beyond the arc. Rachel Ashley had a game-high nine rebounds and three steals. However, Cedarville won the rebounding battle, 47-33.

Cedarville moves on to the semifinals, where they will face #3 Kentucky Wesleyan. The game will tip off at around 8:30 p.m. (central), following the first semifinal game between #1 Trevecca Nazarene and #5 Ursuline.