No. 13 Briar Cliff Pulls Away in Late Stages from Women's Basketball

CRETE, Neb. – Doane went toe-to-toe with No. 13 Briar Cliff for three quarters before a decisive fourth-period surge lifted the Chargers to a 77-64 GPAC women's basketball win Saturday afternoon at Haddix Center.

Doane drops to 5-8 overall and 3-6 in league play, while Briar Cliff moves to 12-3, 6-3 GPAC.

The Tigers started fast behind a pair of layups and a three from Keeleigh Knobbe to take a 7-2 lead. Briar Cliff responded to take an 18-10 lead before Doane closed strong behind Megan Chambers' inside presence to pull within 20-18 at the end of the opening quarter. Briar Cliff answered with perimeter shooting in the second, but triples from Emma Vander Plaats and Grace Thompson—and a late three by Vander Plaats—helped Doane stay in reach of the Chargers at halftime, 34-32.

Briar Cliff nudged the margin out in the third, but Doane stayed within striking distance. Three players scored for the Tigers in the quarter as Chambers scored five points, Mattea Kassebaum added four points, and Ella Johnson picked up three points as Doane trailed just 50-44 heading to the fourth.

Early in the final period, Johnson scored back-to-back buckets and Knobbe added a free throw as Doane drew within 54-49 with 7:43 remaining. From there, the Chargers delivered the game's decisive push. Abby Lee and Taylor Sodeman powered a 13-1 run—capped by a Lee steal and layup at the 5:07 mark—that stretched the lead to 67-50, the largest of the afternoon, and the Tigers could not recover.

Chambers turned in a double-double to lead Doane, finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds to go with a block and three steals. Kassebaum added 11 points, three boards and two assists, while Knobbe filled the stat sheet with 10 points, seven assists, four steals and a rebound. Johnson added nine points and seven rebounds, and Vander Plaats and Thompson each knocked down a pair of three-pointers to finish with six points apiece.

Doane shot 38.3 percent from the field (23-of-60) and 37.5 percent from three (6-of-16), scoring 32 points in the paint and 21 points off turnovers. The Tigers also received 12 points from the bench.

Briar Cliff was led by Lee's 22 points, eight rebounds, four steals and a block. Mallie McNair added 14 points and four boards, while Brooklyn Heineman posted 12 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and five steals. The Chargers shot 41.0 percent from the floor, hit 19-of-23 free throws (82.6 percent) and held a 41-35 edge on the glass.

Doane continues GPAC play next week as the Tigers look to bounce back in conference action with a trip to Mitchell, S.D., on Wednesday, January 7.

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