St. Joseph, Mo.

After a 13 point lead at the halftime break, the Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions came out flat to start the second as the Washburn Lady Blues blazed out to an 18-6 to get themselves back into the ball the game.
With 4.1 on the clock, Lion guard Kanani Marshal got fouled and put on the free throw line. She hit one to extend the Lions lead to three, 71-68.
An intentional foul on Lady Blues guard Jessica Mainz was put on so they would not be able to hit a game-tying three to take the game into overtime.
Mainz hit the first and missed the second and Washburn forward Amanda Holmes got the rebound, to then be fouled by the Lions for the potential game-tying two free throws.
Holmes again hit the first to pull the game to within one at 71-70. The next overwhelming free throw bounced off the back of the rim with 0.7 remaining as Lion guard Dawn Montgomery sent the Lions into their first ever elite 8 in program's history with the rebound and claiming the South Central Regional Championship.
"The ball bounced our way there at the end," said Lion head coach Denny Downing. "They have been a team of destiny here lately."
On March 21, the Lions will travel to Kearney, Nebraska to battle Clayton State for the chance to move on to the final four.
The first half of the ball game was all Lions and the team put up 43 points while shooting 19-33 from the field.
Marshal could not be stopped as she put up 16 points with nine coming from beyond the arc.
Lion guard Britney Jordan and forward Tradawn Short followed Marshal as they each put up eight points in the session.
Guard Alicia Johnson saw her first action of the NCAA tournament and hit a big 3-pointer in the half that put the Lions up 36-24.
The Washburn Lady Blues were led by forward Brooke Ubelaker who was the only player to put up double-digits in the half for the Blues with 10.
A major advantage the Lions had in the half came by points in the paint as they outscored Washburn 28-4.
The second half was a different story. The Lady Blues took their biggest lead 61-56 with 5:49 ticks remaining.
Ubelaker was a large part of the comeback scoring 16 more points in the second half before finishing the game with 26 points and hitting 5-of-10 on threes.
Guard Corkey Stiger and Holmes both finished with 12. Forward Katedria Mosley had her second big half in a row as she finished with 16 points and had a run of nine out of 11 points for the Lions within a five minute span in the second. She totaled 12 in the second half alone.
"I just figured it was time for someone else to show up and I just took it into my own hands," said Mosley on helping Marshal and Jordan.
The defense for the Lions held Washburn to 38.5 percent shooting in the first half and was held to only 44 percent throughout the game.
"Everything just fell in place for us tonight," said Downing. The Lions have beaten four ranked teams going back to the Lone Star Conference Championship when they beat West Texas A&M and then traveling to St. Joseph to beat Emporia State, host Missouri Western State and finally the Washburn Lady Blues.
Four points was the biggest win for the Lions in the South Central Region tournament as the final two games were decided by one point at the buzzer.
Recap provided by Brent Lyday