From B&R staff, Union University reports
Union’s Chelsey Shumpert drives to the basket during the NCAA Division II tournament. (Photo from Union University)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The Union University women’s basketball team saw its dramatic postseason run come to an end on Wednesday night — just one game shy of playing for a national championship.
Making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II semifinals, the Lady Bulldogs suffered a 70-57 loss to the University of Central Missouri at Sanford Pentagon.
The loss ended a historic season for the No. 7 seeded Lady Bulldogs (32-4), who captured their first South Region title and posted the most single-season wins since joining the ranks of NCAA D-II in 2012.
Union advanced to the tournament’s semifinals with a 73-70 victory over Carson-Newman on Monday night. It was the first meeting between the teams since 1994.
Union players Tiffany Rechis (left) and Emily Beard chat on the sideline during the NCAA Division II national tournament. (Photo from Union University)
In Wednesday’s game against Central Missouri, the Lady Bulldogs played from behind for much of the night. They trailed 17-16 at the end of the first quarter, 34-25 at the half and 55-40 late in the third quarter.
But Union stormed back with a 15-5 run — which included scoring the final eight points of the third quarter — to trim the deficit to 60-55 with 5:36 to play in the game. A 3-pointer by Kyvin Goodin-Rogers capped the surge.
Central Missouri, however, held off the comeback bid, and closed the game on a 10-2 run to seal the victory.
Jada Perkins and Sara Lytle finished with 16 points each to pace Union, and Chelsey Shumpert added 14 in the loss. Goodin-Rogers pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for Union, which shot just 24 percent (4-of-17) from 3-point range.
