Final
South Dakota women beat Florida Gulf Coast in WNIT final
Apr 2, 2016 - 10:57 PM VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) Tia Hemiller had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists and South Dakota beat Florida Gulf Coast 71-65 on Saturday to win the WNIT championship.South Dakota outscored FGCU 10-2, with five points from Hemiller, to start the third quarter for a 41-29 lead. FGCU got within 53-51 with 5:11 remaining, but the Eagles did not make another field goal until the 1:09 mark. South Dakota made three 3-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws in the final five minutes to seal it.
Kelly Stewart added 12 points and Abigail Fogg 10 for South Dakota (32-6), which tied a Summit League record for most single-season wins. Stewart and Fogg each had three blocks.
Nicole Seekamp, the tournament MVP and South Dakota's leading scorer at 16.1 points per game, was held to seven points on 3-of-15 shooting.
Kaneisha Atwater led Florida Gulf Coast (33-6) with 25 points. Taylor Gradinjan added 12 and Stephanie Haas 10. Whitney Knight tied a career high with nine blocked shots - one short of the WNIT record.
The announced attendance of 7,415 was the most in South Dakota's Division I history.
- FLA GULF COAST: 65
SOUTH DAKOTA: 71
Final
Apr 2 5:02 PM - FLA GULF COAST: 38
SOUTH DAKOTA: 45
End of 3rd
Apr 2 4:27 PM - FLA GULF COAST: 27
SOUTH DAKOTA: 31
Halftime
Apr 2 3:48 PM - FLA GULF COAST: 18
SOUTH DAKOTA: 19
End of 1st
Apr 2 3:28 PM - FLA GULF COAST: 0
SOUTH DAKOTA: 2
1st Quarter - 9:35
Apr 2 3:07 PM
Related News
- South Dakota hires Plitzuweit to lead women's basketball Apr 22
- Jacksonville knocks off FGCU for A-Sun title, 56-54 Mar 13
- South Dakota State women win Summit championship 61-55 Mar 8
- No. 9 Mississippi St beats Florida Gulf Coast 65-60 Dec 19
- Seminoles steamroll FGCU in second round Mar 23
- FGCU records first-ever NCAA Tournament victory Mar 21
- Stanford coasts past South Dakota Mar 22
- Bias' late bucket lifts Oklahoma State in overtime Mar 22
- South Dakota names Amy Williams as women's hoops coach Jun 4