Official Great Midwest Women's Basketball Championship Page
CEDARVILLE, Ohio – The eight-team field was trimmed down to four remaining as the first day of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship played out on Thursday in the Callan Athletic Center.
The favored seeds in three of the four games prevailed while No. 5 Hillsdale eliminated No. 4 Ursuline from the bracket in the nightcap. No. 1 Cedarville, No. 2 Walsh and No. 3 Findlay all earned opening-round victories.
Walsh and Findlay will play in the first semifinal game on Friday at 5 p.m. ET while the top-seeded and tourney host Yellow Jackets battle the Chargers of Hillsdale in the late game starting at 7:30 p.m.
The conference championship game is slated for Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
No. 2 Walsh 75, No. 7 Kentucky Wesleyan 67
The underdog Panthers gave the Cavaliers all they could handle in the first of four quarterfinal games as freshman Jenna Martin shined on the big stage with 32 points.
Martin had 19 in the first half alone and sank five three-point shots as part of a 12-for-19 shooting exhibition.
Walsh countered with balance as four players ended up in double figures led by Holly Grober’s 14. Jamie Halloran added a dozen while Alex Hochstedler and Jill Blacksten each scored 10 apiece.
Walsh outscored KWC in the second quarter, 21-12, that really turned out to be a difference maker as the Cavaliers advanced.
No. 3 Findlay 100, No. 6 Ohio Dominican 87
The Oilers hit the century mark in scoring for the first time since December of 2016 against Michigan-Dearborn. UF had a huge second quarter with 33 points on 15-of-20 shooting against an ODU program hit with many injuries this season.
Credit the Panthers for putting up a high point total against Findlay, including Alexis Overly with a game-high 21, Devin Conley with 20 and Darian Rose with 19. Brittleigh Macaulay added 15.
The Oilers received 20 points each from all-conference performers Anna Hintz (first team) and Lynsey Englebrecht (second team) while another All-Great Midwest guard, Haley Horstman, (second team) cashed in with 14.
The Oilers shot a blistering 52 percent from the field and led by as many as 25 with four minutes left to play.
No. 1 Cedarville 80, No. 8 Lake Erie 61
It was just a five-point contest when these two teams last met close to the end of the regular season, but the Yellow Jackets put on a shooting clinic that is just too difficult to match.
Great Midwest Coach of the Year Kari Hoffman’s group shot almost 61 percent from the field as Baylee Bennett (9-10 FG), Breanne Watterworth (5-6 FG) and Taylor Buckley (6-6 FG) simply didn’t miss shots.
Cedarville was up 24-8 at the end of the first quarter and led by 22 at halftime. The Yellow Jackets pushed their lead up to as many as 31.
LEC’s Kayla Gabor led the Storm with 18 points and Josie Chaddock scored 12.
No. 5 Hillsdale 81, No. 4 Ursuline 69
A split during the regular season made the Chargers and Arrows one of the more intriguing opening-round matchups in the bracket.
Three-time Great Midwest Player of the Year Laney Lewis was able to still produce big numbers with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Chargers won the battle of the boards in this one by a big margin, pulling down 57 total rebounds to Ursuline’s 34. Ursuline outshot Hillsdale, made one less three-pointer than its opponent and made more shots at the free throw line.
But Hillsdale was relentless on the offensive glass with 26, including eight inside from Allie Dittmer, to win the war in the paint. Allie Dewire was 10-of-19 from the field with a game-high 22 points for Hillsdale.