Central Missouri is back in the Central Region Championship game after defeating Fort Hays State 66-59. The Jennies advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 28 years. Their last appearance in a Sweet 16 game came in the 1989-90 season. UCM had been 0-6 in regional semi-final games between 1990 and Saturday night.
Central Missouri will face host and No. 1 seed Augustana for the Central Region Championship. The game will be played in Sioux Falls with a 7:05 p.m. (Central) start time Monday. The Jennies 26 wins this season are tied for the most since UCM won 29 in 1989-90. It is tied for the sixth most wins in a single season in team history.
For Drury University, advancing to the Sweet 16 is becoming a habit. The Lady Panthers advanced to their third straight regional final after a fourth-quarter rally to beat Lewis 63-49 in Ashland, Ohio on Saturday. Drury, ranked third in NCAA-II and seeded second in the regional, trailed the Flyers 39-36 with 8:25 remaining but outscored Lewis 27-10 the rest of the game to move on to the next round.
The Lady Panthers raised their record to 31-2. Their 31 victories are the second most in program history behind only Drury’s 2004 national runner-up team that finished 36-2. Drury will play top-seeded Ashland on Monday in the NCAA-II Midwest Regional championship at 6 p.m. (Central) in Ashland, Ohio.
