Friends women avoid upset by KWU in KCAC semifinals

Tied with two minutes to go in Saturday’s KCAC women’s basketball tournament semifinals, Friends and Kansas Wesleyan actually couldn’t have been further separated.

No. 11 Friends has an NAIA Tournament bid locked up thanks to its regular-season conference championship. KWU needs a postseason tournament win to advance, and the Coyotes played with such an urgency.

Friends didn’t match it for most of the game but controlled the final moments with big plays from stalwarts Shann Sellers and Lexi Evans in a 79-73 win at home.

The Falcons (27-4) advance to Monday’s championship against No. 20 Tabor.

“I don’t believe we were coming into this game like it was a win-at-all-costs game,” Friends coach RaeAnne Boothe said. “I think they were much more motivated than we were, and I think we just thought it was going to be easy. Hopefully we learned a valuable lesson tonight with a win.”

Friends beat Kansas Wesleyan (20-12) by 20 points in early January and by 24 last week. KWU combined to make 9 of 37 three-pointers and commit 51 turnovers in those game.

The Coyotes didn’t solve the turnover issue, committing 23 against Friends’ aggressive defense. But they stayed in the game, and led most of it, by making 12 three-pointers. Karlie Steinle made 6 of 7 and scored 29 points.

The three-pointer was often KWU’s first best shot against Friends’ full-court pressure, and the Coyotes made enough to threaten the KCAC’s best team, taking a nine-point lead in the third quarter and a seven-point lead in the opening seconds of the fourth.

“We have a lot of teams that just like to shoot it,” Booth said. “I don’t think we moved well enough, I don’t think we were active, I don’t think we were as intense. I think they got up a lot of easy shots because of our lackadaisical (defense).”

Friends found its energy surge at the right time. KWU tied it 71-71 with 2:01 to go, erasing the four-point lead Friends built with a 10-2 run just before.

On the next possession, Lexi Evans, who broke Friends’ single-season three-point record, swished a three from the corner to put the Falcons ahead for good. But it still took some effort. Leading by one in the final minute, Friends was boosted by a putback from Sellers, who skied above the other nine players to grab the offensive rebound.

Sellers led Friends with 23 points, but she made 9 of 22 shots with six turnovers – along with five assists and six steals. Yowanna Posey helped the rally with five fourth-quarter points and Makenzie Vining made a crucial three while adding a pair of free throws.

“That’s what I mean by a team win, because we just didn’t have one player,” Booth said. “Shann and Lexi, they want to win it all. …Those are two players, they want to win. When people can jump on their energy when it’s right, we’re pretty good.”

Booth compared Saturday’s game to a one point loss to Saint Mary on Feb. 2. The energy was similarly deficient, and in that game Friends couldn’t will itself to a late-game turnaround.

Saturday, Booth said, the Falcons wouldn’t allow themselves to lose.

“My team looks at me a lot for everything,” Sellers said. “I just want to make sure I’m there for them. I know they count on me, so being able to see them step up and want to win, too, it just makes it a lot easier to be great for them.”

Kansas Wesleyan 15 19 23 16 -- 73

Friends 19 9 24 27 -- 79

KANSAS WESLEYAN: M. Miller 2-5 1-4 5, Steinle 10-13 3-4 29, Mortensen 3-7 0-0 9, New 2-6 2-4 7, Knox 3-5 1-2 7, Lewis 0-1 0-0 0, Frazier 1-1 0-0 2, Heller 0-3 0-0 0, G. Miller 2-4 1-2 6, Heinen 3-10 0-0 8. Totals 26-55 9-16 73.

FRIENDS: Sellers 9-22 5-6 23, Posey 6-9 3-4 15, Evans 6-10 3-4 21, Vining 3-9 3-3 12, Quiroz 1-5 0-2 2, Akathiotou 0-2 0-0 0, Lozen 2-3 0-0 6, Bouvia 0-0 0-2 0, Castellanos 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 14-21 79.

Three-point shooting—KWU 12-30 Steinle 6-7, Mortensen 3-7, Heinen 2-7, New 1-4, Knox 0-1, G. Miller 0-1, Heller 0-3), Friends 11-23 (Evans 6-10, Vining 3-7, Lozen 2-2, Sellers 0-2, Quiroz 0-3). Rebounds—KWU 36 (Steinle 7), Friends 33 (Posey 10). Total fouls—KWU 22, Friends 19. Technicals—None. Steals—KWU 9 (Steinle 6), Friends 17 (Sellers 6). Assists—KWU 18 (M. Miller 6), Friends 19 (Sellers 5).

This story was originally published February 25, 2017 at 11:03 PM with the headline "Friends women avoid upset by KWU in KCAC semifinals."