Brandy Uchtman, photo credit–John Hyatt

One of the all-time winningest programs at the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championships, College of the Ozarks (Mo.) avoided the upset that two No. 2 seeds had already fallen victim to at the 2016 event, presented by Mercy Medical Center and Seaboard Triumph Foods. The Lady Bobcats rode a career high 29 points from senior forward Brandy Uchtman to an 85-68 win over Friends (Kan.) inside the Tyson Events Center on Thursday.

Head coach Becky Vest’s battle-tested squad bumped its overall season record to 28-4 and has advanced to Friday’s second-round action in Sioux City, Iowa.

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The Lady Bobcats saw their magical run in the NAIA tourney come to an end in the championship game. (photo/Bobcats athletics)

Top-seeded Saint Francis (Ind.) capped a perfect season with a 75-68 win over No. 7 seeded College of the Ozarks (Mo.) in the title game of the 2014 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship. The title is the first-ever for the Cougars, who previously finished runner-up in 1999.

In the first half,  neither team had more than a six point advantage. Saint Francis had a 37-36 lead into the half. Following a combined 0-for-8 start from the field by both teams to open the second half, a 7-0 run gave Saint Francis a 44-36 lead with 16 minutes left in the game. College of the Ozarks brought the Cougars’ lead back to three, 55-52, on a basket by Maggie McMenamy, however Saint Francis answered once again with a 3-pointer by Emily Montgomery to make it 58-52 with under eight minutes to play. A 10-3 run by Saint Francis gave the Cougars the momentum and a 65-53 lead with under three minutes remaining.  The defense for Saint Francis shined during the stretch, holding College of Ozarks without a field goal for more than six minutes.

The Bobcats ended the night shooting 40.7 percent (24-for-59) from the field.  College of the Ozarks ends the season with a 27-10 record.

2014 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship All-Tournament Team

First Team

Michelle Piepenburg, Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)
Tiesha Stokes, Davenport (Mich.)
Brooke Ridley, Saint Francis (Ind.)
Alice Heinzler, College of the Ozarks (Mo.)
Skylarr Shurn, Saint Francis (Ind.)

Second Team

Alli Engbertson, Northwestern (Iowa)
Jamie Van Kirk, Hastings (Neb.)
Ashlynn Muhl, Morningside (Iowa)
Emily Walker, College of the Ozarks (Mo.)
Jenelle Wilson, Saint Francis (Ind.)

Do the Bobcats have one more left in them? After four upset wins, College of the Ozarks plays for the national title in NAIA D-II. (photo/NAIA.org)

No. 7 College of the Ozarks became the lowest seed to ever reach the NAIA Division II women’s national championship game since 2003, as the Bobcats knocked off top-seeded Davenport (Mich.), 75-72, in the semifinals. The victory is the fourth-straight for College of the Ozarks in this tournament since losing in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals on March 1.

College of the Ozarks is making its NAIA record 20th appearance in the national championship, and fifth appearance in the title game.

The Bobcats will play No. 1 Saint Francis (Ind.) on Tuesday, (March 18). Tip off is scheduled for 7:02 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com.

The game came down to the final two minutes and change. A pair of free throws gave Davenport a 70-67, but College of Ozarks sophomore forward Brandy Uchtman nailed a three-pointer at the top of the key. The Panthers regained the lead moments later on a Kelly Dineen jumper in the lane, 72-70.

Then, freshman guard Alice Heinzler, a Republic, Mo., hit a three-pointer to give College of the Ozarks a 73-72 lead with 12 seconds left on the clock.

Davenports attempt to tie fell off the mark and the Bobcats sealed the victory with a pair of Emily Walker free throws.

Heinzler lead all scorers with a career-high 27 points on 7-for-14 shooting. She was also 5-for-8 from beyond the arch and 8-for-8 at the free throw line. Joining Heinzler in double figures for College of the Ozarks was Kayla Kepler with 14 points and Uchtman with 13 points.

“My kids have tremendous heart,” said College of the Ozarks head coach Becky Vest. “They’ve worked all year for this. They went through two-a-days in the fall for moments like these. They went through tough practices for moments like these. It was just a tremendous team effort.”

The Bobcats snapped the Panthers 29-game winning streak, which was second to only unbeaten Saint Francis’ (Ind.) 37-game streak, the opponent for tonight.

Ozarks guard Emily Walker. (photo courtesy/NAIA)

The seventh-seeded College of the Ozarks (Mo.) recorded its third-straight upset, beating No. 1 seedNorthwestern (Iowa), 90-69, in the quarterfinals  of the 2014 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship. The Bobcats are the lowest seed to reach the semifinals since the current tournament format was established in 2003.

The Bobcats set a new NAIA championship record with 40 free throws in the contest. Senior guard Emily Walker, who entered the quarterfinals averaging only 8.5 points per game at this year’s national championship, led the Bobcats with 22 points. The Nixa, Mo., native connected on only three field goals, but was 15-for-16 at the free line. Freshman guard Alice Heinzler from Republic, Mo., finished with 21 points, freshman guard Jeana Raper, also from Nixa, scored 16 points and junior guard Kayla Kepler, from Fair Grove, Mo., ended with 15 points.

Overall, the Bobcats shot 40.8 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from three-point range and 87.0 percent at the free throw line.

The margin of defeat is the largest championship history for Northwestern, which has previously reached the at least the semifinals in six-straight seasons.

The Bobcats will face No. 1 Davenport (Mich.) Monday at 8 p.m. CDT. That semifinal contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

The College of the Ozarks fell in the second round to Bethel, Ind. (photo/NAIA)

Bethel College (Ind.) got into the quarterfinals by beating College of the Ozarks 67-64 in the second round of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship. The 2014 event is being played at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo.

Bethel flew out to a quick 11-4 advantage before the Bobcats went on a commanding 11-0 run, capped off with a three-pointer from Derek Daniels to claim a 15-11 lead with 13:23 remaining in the first half.

College of the Ozarks increased its lead to eight (23-15) with 9:26 remaining after a basket by Cameron Paschke, but the Pilots owned the final seven minutes of play using a 20-4 spurt featuring a bucket at the buzzer from Bethel’s Michael Mislan to capture a 37-27 lead at intermission.

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The Lady Bobcats advance to the second round of the NAIA D-II national touranment (photo/NAIA.org)

For the second time in as many days a No. 7 seed upended a No. 2 seed, as No 7 College of the Ozarks (Mo.) downed No. 2 Saint Xavier (Ill.), 68-43, in the first round of the 2014 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship, in Sioux City, IA. The Bobcats, who had lost three of their last five games entering the event, advance to play the winner of No. 3 Mayville State (N.D.) and No. 6 Cornerstone (Mich.) at 12 p.m. on Friday.

College of the Ozarks entered the championship as one of the NAIA’s most experienced teams, with 20 trips in the 23-year history of the event. With the win, the Bobcats advance to at least the second round for the 11th-straight year, with their last first round loss coming in 2003 against Grand View (Iowa), 74-72.

Freshman guard Alice Heinzler led all scorers with 18 points in the game. The Republic, Mo., native has scored in double-digits 24 times this season, including a season-best 28 points against fellow national championship qualifier Oklahoma Wesleyan in the semifinals of the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

College of the Ozarks men advance to the 2nd round. (photo/NAIA)

College of the Ozarks pulled off the biggest upset of day one at the NAIA Division II National Championship as they knocked off the No. 2 seed College of Idaho 88-84 Wednesday night in the first round, held on the Bobcats home court in Point Lookout, Mo.

Ozarks shot nearly 61% of its field goals while making 31-51 shots and the Bobcats made 13-20 field goals in the second half. Alex Santiago scored a game high 24 points for the Bobcats and was one of four players in double figures for Ozarks. Nathane Simniok added 17 points and had 12 rebounds with two blocked shots. Santiago and Simniok combined to go 15-17 from the field.

Ozarks, as the host school of this event, is guaranteed a spot in the tournament.  The Bobcats are making their 18th appearance in the National Championship and improved its first round record to 11-7. This is the second year in a row they beat a heavily favored team.  Last year, they topped No. 3 seed Northwood (Fla.) last season.

Ozarks is now 22-10 and will face Bethel (Ind.) on Friday, March 14 at 7:30 pm. College of Idaho bows out of the field with a 28-6 record.

In day two of the first, the No. 7 College of the Ozarks women (23-9) face No. 2 Saint Xavier (Ill.) (27-5), at 8:30 a.m., Thursday morning.

Story courtesy of NAIA.org

Northwestern (Iowa) claimed the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship with a 75-62 victory over the College of the Ozarks on Tuesday to raise their fifth banner in school history.  Nixa, Mo. native Morgan Smith finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with an average of 23.0 points per game. She put together another solid effort on Tuesday with 23 points and 15 rebounds.

Lady Bobcat head coach George Wilson has led the Ozarks to all four of its national championship appearances, but is still searching for his first title. Ozarks lost in three-consecutive national title games from 2006 to 2008. Tuesday’s loss snapped the team’s streak of 24-straight wins.

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College of the Ozarks’ Morgan Smith, a native of Nixa, scored 30 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks, four assists, one steal and just one turnover in 37 minutes to help the Lady Bobcats to a 74-70 semifinal victory over second-ranked Concordia (Neb.).

The Lady Bobcats will make their fourth appearance in the national title game in school history when they battle Northwestern on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in a game televised live by CBS Sports Network. George Wilson, who has been the coach for all three of the Ozarks’ title game losses, and the Bobcats are hoping for better luck the fourth time around. His leading player, Smith, is determined to lead Ozarks to its first national championship victory.

“I feel pretty good that whatever my team needs from me I’m going to try to do,” Smith said. “The first half I was more on than I was the second half. In the second half I got a little off with my shot, but we put things together and we had a lot of different people contribute to that win.”