Bracket

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – The fifth-seeded Lindsey Wilson women's basketball team knocked off No. 1-seeded Westmont (Calif.) 63-59 on Friday night to punch the program's first-ever ticket to the national quarterfinal round at the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship Tournament, held at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena.

It marks the first time the Blue Raiders have ever won two games in a row at the national championships, doing so in their 11th all-time appearance in the tournament to improve to 5-10 at the final site.

The Blue Raiders now await the winner of Mid-America Nazarene (Kan.) and Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) in the finals of the Duer Bracket region, with tipoff scheduled for Saturday night at 8 p.m. CT.

No. 15-ranked Lindsey Wilson (28-6) used a 6-0 run to take a late lead halfway through the final quarter before closing out the game on a 15-8 run, using a combination of clutch shooting and stingy defense to eliminate the No. 2-ranked Warriors (29-4) in a tight back-and-forth contest.

Westmont entered the game as the second-best three-point shooting team in the NAIA, but were limited to just 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from beyond the arc, including going 0-for-7 from deep in the second half.

Lindsey Wilson scored the first five points of the game as they opened on a 10-3 run over the first 3:09 of play. Westmont kept the game close throughout the first quarters as their largest deficit was seven points in the early going.

After the Blue Raiders led 17-13 with 1:41 left in the first quarter, the Warriors scored the final four points of the quarter as they tied the game 17-17 after the opening 10 minutes.

Westmont grabbed their first lead of the contest to start the second quarter as they led 19-17 at the 8:39 mark. A seesaw battle opened up in the second quarter as the lead changed hand five times throughout the frame.

The Warriors extended their lead to four points, 21-17, with 7:46 to play in the second quarter. Lindsey Wilson countered with the next five points to regain the lead at 22-21 with 6:48 left before the break.

With 3:11 left in the second quarter, Westmont stretched their lead to four points once again as they led 25-19. The Blue Raiders battled right back to tie the game 29-29 with 1:57 left before the half.

Morgan Haskin knocked down a pair of free throws for the Warriors with 58 seconds left in the first half to give Westmont a 31-29 lead. Both teams were held scoreless over final 58 seconds of play as the Warriors held a 31-29 lead at the half.

In the first half, Lindsey Wilson shot 38.5 percent from the floor, while making 5-of-7 three point attempts. Westmont was 37.9 percent from the field in the half, while going 3-for-11 from the beyond the arc.

To start the second half, the Warriors scored the first points of third quarter to take a 35-29 lead with 7:31 left to play in the quarter. The Blue Raiders strung together a 6-0 run as a basket from Courtney Sandlin tied the game, 35-35, with 3:59 left in the third.

Both teams continued to string together short runs as the Westmont went on 4-0 run to regain their four-point lead with 3:10 to play in the third quarter. A pair of free throws from Kayla Styles put an end to the Warrior run and made it a 39-37 game with 2:45 to play in the third.

The Blue Raiders tied the game just moments later as Chanel Roberts made a basket inside the paint with 1:56 left in the quarter.

Westmont scored the final six points of the frame to take a 45-39 lead into the fourth quarter.

Lindsey Wilson went on a 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter and a three pointer from Teanna Curry made it a 45-44 game with 8:19 left in regulation. Over the next three minutes both teams battled back-and-forth as the Warrior lead bounced between one and three points.

After Westmont took a 51-48 lead with 5:23 left in regulation, the Blue Raiders went on 6-0 run to take a 54-51 lead at the 4:03 mark in the fourth quarter. Styles increased the Lindsey Wilson lead to five points, 57-52, after she knocked down a shot from beyond the arc with 3:23 left in regulation.

The Blue Raiders extended their lead to 60-54 after a fast break layup from Roberts with 1:37 to go. With less than a minute to play, the Warriors cut their deficit to four points and forced a Lindsey Wilson turnover on the ensuing possession. Westmont was unable to capitalize on the turnover and the Blue Raiders countered with another fast break layup.

After being fouled shooting a three-pointer, Krissy Karr was only able to convert on just one of the three free throws to make it a 62-57 game with 17 seconds left in regulation. Curry went 1-for-2 at the free throw line to increase the lead for Lindsey Wilson to six points with 14 seconds to play.

Westmont hit a basket at the buzzer, but the Blue Raiders were able to prevail with a 63-59 victory.

The Blue Raiders improve to 2-0 all time against the Warriors, both victories coming at the national tournament. Westmont was the final No. 1 seed to be eliminated from the field, the first time since 2003 no No. 1 seed has advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Malerie Martin had a strong performance, scoring 13 points to match Styles for the team high. Roberts added 12 and Curry had 11. Styles also had a team high seven rebounds.

Two other teams from the Mid-South Conference also advanced to the national quarterfinals in Campbellsville (Ky.) and Pikeville (Ky.).

Lindsey Wilson tips off in the round of eight at 8 p.m. CT on Saturday night against either Mid-America Nazarene or Freed-Hardeman.