University of St. Thomas Athletics
24-5
Cornell College
25-2
Another nailbiter, another win for W. Hoops
3/2/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Was it pretty? Not always. Was it pretty sweet? Absolutely.
Junior wing Kelly Brandenburg had 15 points, six rebounds and four steals and Tommie women's basketball overcame another obstacle on Saturday night with a 53-52 road victory over once-beaten Cornell College.
Neither team scored in the final 1:57. St. Thomas (24-5) used a defensive stop on a missed 3-pointer in the closing seconds and rebounded the potential game-winning shot to secure the second-round NCAA playoff win in Mount Vernon, Iowa.
Just 24 hours earlier on the same court, the Tommies used a 9-0 game-closing run in the final 2:00 to stun No. 4-ranked Calvin, 64-62.
"It was a battle," Coach Ruth Sinn said of the unranked Tommies' win over No. 12 Cornell on its home court after defeating Calvin on Friday night. "This shows we have a lot of resilience, no matter the situation. We found a way to stay in games."
Sinn said Cornell hurt the Tommies inside in the first half, "but our defense locked them down in the second half. We needed a big stop at the end (a long three-pointer by Cornell failed) and we got it."
The Tommies ran its season winning streak to 11 and improved to its postseason record to 11-1 over the last two seasons. It was their third victory over a top-12 ranked team this season.
Kellie Ring added 10 points and Jenna Dockter scored nine. UST had an 11-0 edge in bench points to help pull out the victory.
The Tommies had only 12 turnovers but converted just 34 percent from the floor. They were outrebounded 46-31 but helped hold the Rams (24-2) to 35 percent shooting and helped force 23 Cornell turnovers.
For the Rams, Rikki Muloy had 16 points and Taylor Dicus had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
UST plays No. 2-ranked Hope College (28-1) next Friday at a site to be announced.
As for having to face No. 2 Hope on Friday night, Sinn said every team at this stage is good. "We have to take things one game at a time and remain true to who we are," she said.
Click here for box score:
http://www.cornellrams.com/stats/2012-13/wBasketball/cor-ust.htm
