CASPER, Wyo. — No. 23 seed North Dakota State College of Science brought its “A” game to the NJCAA DI Women’s Basketball National Tournament on Tuesday. The Wildcats upset No. 10 seed Eastern Florida State, 54-46, earning NDSCS its second national tourney win in as many seasons.
The Wildcats recovered from a 5-0 deficit and never trailed again, taking a 25-22 halftime lead and stretching it to a 41-27 advantage after three quarters. Shania Nichols-Vannett led NDSCS with 17 points and 10 rebounds, helping her team withstand a fourth-quarter rally by the Titans which brought the game within eight points.
Arianna Berryhill (11 points) and Savanna Jones (9 points, 5 rebounds) scored timely buckets, while Michelle Arens, McKena Koolmo and Quinn Neppl played stingy defense to hold the Titans well below their season scoring average of 78 points per game.
Koolmo, a 2023 Wahpeton High School graduate, had one of her best games as a Wildcat with eight points and four rebounds across 30 minutes. Koolmo and Berryhill led the charge out of the gates with six first-half points each to lead all scorers.
Berryhill’s biggest moment came on a three-point play at the rim with 2:47 left in the third. Berryhill, a Bismarck Legacy product, drove to the basket and finished through a hip check to put NDSCS up 38-24.
Eastern Florida State (27-5) had won 26 straight games before losing to defending national champion Northwest Florida State in the district playoffs. The Titans reached the final four of the national tournament in each of the past two seasons.
Nichols-Vannette pushed the lead back to 11 in the fourth quarter when she ended a three-minute NDSCS scoring drought with a clutch three. Jones silenced another Titans run with a breakaway bucket at the 2-minute mark to help put the game away.
Jaidyn Koerdt was the only Titan to score double-digits with 12 points. Amelia Hassett posted eight points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
The Wildcats shot 46 percent from three (6/13), while the Titans made 4 of 25 attempts. NDSCS was 14 of 17 at the free-throw line compared to 8 of 15 for the Titans. NDSCS won the rebounding battle, 37-31.
NDSCS moves on to face No. 7 seed Odessa at 10:15 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday. Stay tuned to our KBMW Facebook page and on-air coverage for broadcast information.