GAFFNEY, S.C. - With sophomore Alexis Dillard's double-double 16 points and 13 rebounds, third-seeded Anderson University women's basketball pulled off the upset over No. 3 ranked and second-seeded Columbus State, 71-53, Saturday evening in the Round-of-32 of the NCAA Division II Tournament at the Timken Center on the campus of Limestone College.
With the victory, the Trojans advance to the regional final for the first time since the 2005 NCAA Tournament, and look to advance to the Elite Eight for the time in program history. The triumph improves AU's overall record to 27-4 on the season, while CSU closes its year with a 31-2 mark and snaps its 17-game winning streak.
The Trojans posted four players in double figures for the evening, as senior guard Sierra Simpson paced the team with 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting, while pulling down five rebounds. Dillard's 16 points followed Simpson's mark, while junior Jasmine Franklin added 12 points and substitute guard Heather Jankowy notched 11 points. Jankowy drained two of AU's three 3-pointers for the game and finished the game 4-for-5 from the field.
Dillard's 13 rebounds was a game-high, as she recorded her first double-double of the season. For the contest, eight of the forward's boards came on the defensive end. Despite dropping the rebounding category, 41-39, AU pulled down 28 defensive rebounds compared to the Cougars' 24.
Columbus State was led by Daktronics All-District Player of the
Year Michelle Mitchell with 23 points on 10-of-24 from the field.
Mitchell was responsible for just under 43.4 percent of the team's
scoring for the game, as CSU failed to place another player in
double figures. On the glass, forward Carrie Washington led the
Cougars in rebounds with 11.
The Cougars came into the game shooting just above 40 percent on the season, but the AU defense held the Peach Belt Conference champion to just 30.8 percent (20-for-65) from the floor and a 3-for-20 mark from behind the three-point line.
The teams shot the ball poorly to open the game, as they combined for a 5-for-26 (19.2 percent) shooting performance from the field through the first eight minutes of the contest. After the score was even at 6-6, a foul shot by Franklin handed the Trojans a one-point advantage and a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. The free throw began an eventual 6-0 run by AU, as it captured a 12-6 early lead.
Columbus State bounced back and brought the score within one at 14-13 when Mitchell scored on a fast-break lay-in. Despite the run, Anderson fired back by scoring the next eight points, headlined by back-to-back jumpers from Franklin, pushing the score to 22-13 with 3:31 left.
The second seed brought their deficit within four with less than a minute to play, but Franklin gave the Trojans confidence heading into the locker room as she beat the buzzer on a lay-in and set the halftime score at 27-21. For the half, the Black and Gold defense held CSU to just 1-for-9 from behind the 3-point line.
After Simpson knocked down a step-back jumper to open the second half, Mitchell scored the next four points inside the AU paint to send the score to 29-25. The four-point deficit marked the smallest AU lead of the period, as the Trojans answered with five straight points, highlighted by a traditional three-point play by Dillard.
Anderson took its first double-figure lead of the contest when Jankowy buried a 3-pointer from the wing to propel the Trojans to a 41-31 lead, as Jankowy scored on a lay-in on the next AU possession for five of her eight second-half points.
A trey from CSU's Dee Dee Deshazer brought Columbus State back to within six at 45-39 with 11:22 left, but the Black and Gold went on 10-3 run to give them another double-figure lead at 55-42. After Mitchell snapped the run with another fast-break lay-in, Jankowy put the game out of reach with her second 3-pointer from the wing. Dillard added two more points to increase the AU run and tallied a 16-point advantage with just less than five minutes to play.
The Trojans closed out the game with a 7-for-8 mark from the free throw line in the final 3:58 of the game, headlined by Simpson's 6-for-6 mark in the span. Freshman guard Jasmine Raynor recorded Anderson's final bucket with a jumper and set the final score at 71-53.
AU advances to the regional final on Monday when it squares off with top-seeded and No.2 ranked Limestone for a chance to advance to the Elite Eight. The matchup is the second time this season the Trojans and Saints will lockup, as LC claimed a 72-65 win at the Timken Center on Nov. 29. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
