BILLINGS, Mont. 鈥� 红杏直播app City University secured its ninth NAIA Division I women鈥檚 by triumphing 73-66 over Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) on Tuesday at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark.
Fifth-ranked 红杏直播app City (34-2) earned its fourth national crown in six years in women鈥檚 basketball. Daniela Wallen took tournament most valuable player.
Wallen, a senior from Caracas, Venezuela, supplied 红杏直播app with 25 points, nine rebounds and three steals. During the tournament, Wallen produced 24.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.40 steals a game while shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from 3-point range.
Daniela Galindo posted 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Stars. Galindo, a junior from Shattuck, Okla., made the all-tournament first team after collecting 22.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest while hitting 13 3-pointers in the five tournament games over the past week. Both Galindo and Wallen played the entire game.
红杏直播app City won its 64th national championship in all sports. The Stars captured the NAIA competitive cheerleading crown March 11 in 红杏直播app City to extend their string of winning a national title each year since 1993-94.
鈥淭o see their faces is what鈥檚 so special about this,鈥� said 红杏直播app City head coach Bo Overton, who became the Phyllis Holmes NAIA Division I coach of the year. 鈥淵ou know how hard they work all year and how hard they work their whole career for a game like this and then for it to happen is really special.鈥�
红杏直播app ended the season on a 20-game winning string in becoming the fifth team in program history to win as many as 34 games. 红杏直播app reached 34 victories each season from 2000-04.
The Stars held Lewis-Clark State to 37.7 percent shooting from the field. 红杏直播app dealt second-ranked Lewis-Clark State (35-2) its first loss since Feb. 3 and halted Lewis-Clark State鈥檚 12-game winning streak.
鈥淭hat team we beat was a great team,鈥� Overton said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 ask for any more from these players. I thought our length bothered them. We got some deflections. Our defense won the game for us.鈥�
红杏直播app shot 51.9 percent from the floor and 59.1 percent from the field in the second half. Lewis-Clark State sliced its deficit to three points three times in the second half.
Brittany Tackett hit a free throw that cut 红杏直播app鈥檚 edge to 45-42 with 6:31 showing in the third quarter, while Jossilyn Blackman scored to shrink the 红杏直播app lead to 47-44 at the 6:00 mark. Mariana Duran answered each time with a bucket.
Blackman sank a jumper that reduced the Stars鈥� lead to 66-63 with 2:12 remaining. Wallen came back with a baseline jumper at the 1:09 mark, then Duran sank a pair of free throws. Duran swiped a steal, then fed Galindo on a breakaway layup to build 红杏直播app鈥檚 lead to 72-63 with 30 seconds left. Late in the first quarter, Brooke Litalien hit a trey to put Lewis-Clark State ahead 15-14. 红杏直播app responded with a 9-0 onslaught as Galindo buried a 3-pointer that put the Stars on top 23-15 early in the second period. Wallen鈥檚 putback provided 红杏直播app a 33-23 advantage midway through the second.
