The No.1 Dordt University women's basketball team scored the first 11 points and led wire-to-wire in defeating No.12 Marian (Ind.) 82-61 in the second quarterfinal game of the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship played today at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Defenders, now 33-2, will play Bethel (Tenn.) in the first national semifinal game on Monday, March 24 at 6pm. Bethel earned a 74-70, come-from-behind win over previously unbeaten Southern Oregon in the first quarterfinal game.
Janie Van Donge paced the balanced Defenders offense with a game-high 21 points to go with nine rebounds while
Macy Sievers collected her second triple-double of the season with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
Olivia Harazin contributed 14 points while both
Willow Bleeker (11pts) and
Gracie Schoonhoven (10pts) gave the Defenders five players in double figures.
The Defenders raced out to an 11-0 lead, finished off with back-to-back three-pointer from Harazin and Bleeker, to force Marian into a timeout- at the 6:41 mark of the first quarter. The Knights regrouped a bit during the break as they went on a 9-4 run to trim the Dordt lead down to six (15-9). The Defenders, however, closed the quarter on an 8-2 run, six scored by Van Donge, in taking a 23-11 lead into the second period.
A couple of transition baskets by Harazin and Schoonhoven coupled with tenacious defense that held the Knights scoreless for nearly three minutes pushed Dordt's lead to 30-14 at the 6:22 mark of the second quarter. The Defenders brought a 38-21 lead into the halftime locker room, limiting Marian to just 31% from the field in the first half.
Marian rallied at the start of the third quarter, outscoring the Defenders 9-2, to bring the lead down to 12 (44-32) at the five minute mark. Sievers came back with a three-pointer on the next possession that began a 16-3 run to give the Defenders their largest lead, 60-35, after a three-pointer by Harazin with just under two minutes left. Five different players scored during the run as Head Coach
Bill Harmsen's squad led 62-41 by quarters end.
Dordt led by 20-plus points for all but 1:30 of the fourth quarter as they went a perfect 14-for-14 from the free throw line to put the game away.
Kiley McNally led the Knights with 17 points and both Madisyn Bailey and Abbey McNally scored 12. Marian sees its season come to an end with a loss in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year; they end with a 27-8 record.
By the Numbers:
- Dordt shot 49% for the game, 50% (6/12) from the three-point line
- Marian shot 39% for the game, 25% (3/12) from the arc
- the Defenders shot a season-best 92% from the free throw line, converting 24-of-26 attempts
- Dordt held a 37-27 advantage on the boards and committed one fewer turnover (23-22) than the Knights
Notes:
- Dordt is now 2-0 all-time against Marian, also defeating the Knights early in the 2021-22 season
- the Defenders improve their record to 17-3 all-time at the NAIA Championship
- Dordt advances to play in their second consecutive and third overall national semifinal, all in the last four years
- the Defenders are a perfect 3-0 in the national quarterfinal round
- Marian is a two-time national champion, winning back-to-back titles in 2016-17
- the Knights, a 12x national qualifier, is now 26-9 at the championship
- both teams come from conferences that had five teams in the field of 64
- Dordt improves its record against teams that were ranked/receiving votes in the final poll to 16-2
- the Defenders are now 16-2 against teams in the 64-team field
- the 24 made free throws by the Defenders is the second most of the season (35 vs Haskell)
- Dordt matched its season high with 18 steals (also vs Hope International), led by Schoonhoven with a career-high six
- this was the second triple-double for Sievers, who also recorded one against Briar Cliff in the GPAC Championship
- Van Donge scored in double figures for the 29th time this season
- Sievers scored in double figures for the team-leading 30th time this season
- Harazin has scored in double figures in 21 games
- Schoonhoven scored in double figures in back-to-back games and for the 16th time this season
- Bleeker has scored in double figures in 12 games this season
- Bleeker has made a three-pointer in 25 straight games and in 31 of the 35 games played
- Bleeker, with 89 three-pointers this season, is the program's single-season record holder
- Van Donge has scored 569 points this season, third most for a single season in program history
- Ashtyn Veerbeek - 680
- Erika Feentra - 637
- this was the eighth game where five Defenders scored in double figures this season
- vs Waldorf, Mount Marty, Concordia (2x), College of Saint Mary, Hastings and Northwestern
- the Defenders had six players score in double figures vs Concordia on Nov.23
- this was the 21st game this season where the Defenders allowed 65 points or less
