Cheeks scores 19, but Reinhardt’s season comes to an end

From Reinhardt reports SIOUX CITY, Iowa

— Nineteen first-half points by First Team All-Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Eagle and former Sonoraville HIgh standout Rebecca Cheeks kept No. 7 Reinhardt standing tall against second-seeded Eastern Oregon in the 27th Annual NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship, presented by Mercy Medical Center and Seaboard Triumph Foods, but a strong second-half performance by the Mounties propelled them to the second round over the Eagles, 83-52, Thursday afternoon in Sioux City, Iowa.

The hard-fought defeat in Reinhardt’s third-ever appearance in the National Championship brings the season to a close at 26-10.

The first half action was fast-paced on both ends of the floor, as the Eagles and Mounties poured in basket and basket to a thrilling 46-40 score at the break (26-23 at the end of the first period). The Eagles – the co-champions of the AAC – took their first lead of the game mid-second quarter on back-to-back buckets by Cheeks, who was single-handedly willing her squad to a 37-32 advantage with 4:08 left on the clock until halftime.

Eastern Oregon (31-2) then showed why it is one of the best teams in NAIA women’s basketball and the champions of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, as the Mounties finished the second stanza on a 14-3 run.

The positive momentum would continue for the higher seed into the second half, as Eastern Oregon clamped down on the defensive end and allowed only 12 second-half points to the Reinhardt offense. A key factor in the lack of production in the scoring department was an injury to Cheeks at the 6:05 mark in the third quarter – she did not return to the game.

The Eagles were outscored 51-15 in the final 24:08 as the Mounties have now won 25 games in-a-row.

Cheeks had a team-best 19 points (all in the first half) and nearly doubled her season output of 11.1 points each time out. She also pulled down a squad-high eight rebounds and blocked two shots in just over 21 minutes of action. Sara Byers and Jaleya Mosley netted nine points each, as the trio combined for 37 points.

As a team, Reinhardt shot 33.3 percent from the floor (19-for-57) and made eight shots from 3-point land.

Lee headed to NCAA D2 Tournament; Cheeks named GSC All-Tourney Team JACKSON, Tenn.

— For the second consecutive season the Lee women’s basketball team will be dancing as it qualified for the NCAA D2 National Tournament as a No. 6 seed in the South Region and will host third-seeded GSC rival North Alabama on Friday at 1 p.m.

No. 1 seed Union University will be the host for the South Region Championship and will draw the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champion, Clark Atlanta. No. 2 Florida Southern will take on No. 7 Valdosta State and No. 4 Embry-Riddle will tangle with No. 5 Eckerd.

Lee enters the tournament with a 23-7 overall mark. The Lady Flames defeated West Georgia, 88-78 in the GSC Quarterfinals before losing to GSC champion Union, 66-56 in the semifinals last Saturday in Birmingham. The Lions are 24-4 on the year but were upset at home in the GSC Quarterfinals, 70-65 at the hands of West Alabama.

THE MATCHUP: The Lady Flames fell in the final sec- onds to the Lions in their only meeting this season down in Florence, Ala back on Dec. 18. Savannah Stults made the backend of a pair of free throws with 0.3 seconds left to turn back the Lady Flames’ comeback and hand North Alabama a 63-62 win. Lee is 2-7 all-time against UNA.

Together the two teams had five players named to the GSC All-Conference team. Seniors Erin Walsh (1st Team) and Carrie Cheeks (2nd Team) represented the Lady Flames while North Alabama had three players take home first team honors in Emma and Ivy Wallen and Brittany Panetti.

Cheeks scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the GSC semifinal game against Union while Walsh added 15 points and eight rebounds. Walsh leads the team with 12.8 ppg and is eighth in the storied history of the women’s basketball program with 1,796 points.

Coach Marty Rowe has also gotten solid production from seniors Shelby Brown and Haley Cornellison over the last few games. Brown had 11 points and nine rebounds in the GSC quarterfinals while Cornellison came off the bench to hit three big triples and grab five rebounds.

For the Lions it all centers on their all-conference players. Emma Wallen averages 18.6 ppg and has canned 100 3-pointers on the season while Panetti puts in 16 ppg and grabs 7.2 rpg. Unfortunately for North Alabama Ivy Wallen (17.5 ppg) had her season cut short due to a knee injury.

Something will have to give on Friday night as North Alabama leads the league in scoring averaging 81.5 ppg while the Lady Flames give up a conference-low 54.8 ppg.

“We’re excited to get the chance to continue our season and have the opportunity to play North Alabama. We played them in December and it was a great game, so we wouldn’t expect anything different this time around,” said Rowe, who is in his 14th year as leader of the Lady Flames.

CHEEKS NAMED TO GSC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Playing some of her best ball in her four-year career Cheeks was named to the GSC All-Tournament team as she scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds in the quarterfinal round and tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards in the semifinals.

The Ranger, Ga. native is 16th on the Lee all-time scoring list with 1,260 career points and is eighth in rebounds with 810.

NEXT UP: It’s win or go home time from here on out in the NCAA Tournament. With a win on Friday the Lady Flames would play the winner of No.2-seed Florida Southern and No.7-seed Valdosta State on Saturday at 6 p.m. The region championship is set for Monday at 8 p.m.