MORROW, Ga. - A first half run lifted the sixth-seeded seeded Pfeiffer women's basketball team past third-seeded Anderson, 84-78, in the opening game of the 2013 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, hosted by Clayton State on Friday afternoon at the Athletics and Fitness Center.
Anderson, the South Atlantic Conference regular season and SAC Tournament champion, nearly rallied from a 22-point second-half deficit, but saw its season come to a close with a 23-9 record after making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2004.
Pfeiffer (25-6), the Conference Carolinas' tournament runners-up, advanced to the regional semifinals, while earning its second win of the season past Anderson, as the Trojans book-ended their season with setbacks to the Lady Falcons. Pfeiffer will meet the winner of the No. 2 seed Limestone/No. 7 seed Barton matchup Saturday at 5 p.m., in a battle for a trip to the Sweet 16.
The Trojans opened the contest with two quick baskets inside the opening two minutes and built a pair of early four-point leads, but Pfeiffer trimmed the Trojan advantage to one on three occasions before an Alissa Diaz 3-pointer from the left wing with less than 16 minutes on the clock gave Anderson a 13-9 edge.
Pfeiffer countered with five unanswered points and took its first lead of the afternoon, 14-13, on a basket by Christina Harvey with 14:07 on the clock. Following Lesley Woods' free throw and a layup by Pfeiffer senior Christina Harvey, back-to-back treys, first by Pfeiffer's Jodie Lemons, then from Harvey pushed the Lady Falcon lead to 22-14 with 12:13 remaining in the opening frame. Pfeiffer's Kellie Roney added a layup to open a double-digit, 24-14, lead midway through the frame.
Anderson's Alissa Diaz answered with a jumper in the paint and freshman guard Madison Floyd came off bench to knock down back-to back 3s in 55-second span to pull the Trojans within 26-22 with 8:37 remaining, but Pfeiffer responded with a 17-0 run, fueled by three consecutive 3-pointers, as the Lady Falcons closed the half with a 24-8 surge and took a 50-30 advantage to the locker room.
But the Trojans refused to go away quietly, reeling off 10 unanswered points early in the second half to trim Pfeiffer's lead to 57-48 on a pair of free throws from Diaz with 12:27 left in the contest. Senior forward Breonda Shannon netted four of her career-high 23 points during the outburst.
The Lady Falcons regained a 13-point lead, 65-52, with 9:43 on the clock, but AU continued to chip away at the deficit, closing to within 74-60 on another inside basket, but still trailed by eight with 1:03 remaining in the contest.
Shannon anchored an 8-2 run over the next 53 seconds by dropping in another six points and Diaz added a pair of free throws with 10.5 seconds left to lift AU within one possession, at 80-78. But Pfeiffer's Brittany Cox connected on four consecutive free throws inside the final nine to set the final score.
Diaz led three Trojans with 24 points and handed out a game-high five assists, while Shannon added 10 rebounds to record her sixth double-double of the season. Ahlin netted 12 points, while Sierra Simpson equaled a career-high with 10 rebounds and dished out four assists.
Lemons posted a game-high 27 points for Pfeiffer, while Harvey added 26 and Cox netted 20.
