SCHRODER HAS 12 AS HAWKS MOVE TO SEMIFINAL SATURDAY

ESTHERVILLE, Iowa – The Northeast Community College women's basketball team made the trip to Estherville, Iowa Wednesday for a showdown with Iowa Lakes Community College in the Quarterfinal Round of the Region XI Division II Women's Basketball Tournament. The Hawks downed the three-seeded Lakers by a final score of 46-43 to advance in the bracket.

Northeast (17-11, 8-8 ICCAC) and Iowa Lakes both got off to a slow start in the first quarter before the Hawks began to find the bottom of the net and entered the halftime break with a 25-22 edge on the scoreboard.

The Lakers grabbed their first lead since the first quarter with 5:15 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Hawks fought back with might. Analyssa Maldonado (Sunnyside, Wash.) and Stevi Fallis (Pine Ridge, S.D.) both put in layups, Fallis added two made free throws and Northeast got a defensive stop on the other end to seal the deal in the defensive battle.

The Hawks were a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the matchup and were able to force Iowa Lakes to 16 turnovers compared to just eight of their own.

Northeast was the only road team and lower-seeded team to pull off a victory Wednesday night as they will be joined in the semifinals by No. 1 Kirkwood Community College, No. 2 Iowa Western Community College and No. 4 North Iowa Area Community College.

STAT SHEET:

Lexi Schroder (Stuart, Neb.): 12 PTS, 4 REB, STL

Analyssa Maldonado (Sunnyside, Wash.): 10 PTS, 5 REB, STL

Stevi Fallis (Pine Ridge, S.D.): 8 PTS, 2 REB, AST

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:

Head women's basketball coach Matt Svehla on his team pulling off the big victory:

"The girls really battled tough tonight," Svhela said. "Iowa Lakes is a physical team and buckets were hard to come by. We had some struggles offensively, but we defended pretty well and finished the game with a stop. We will enjoy this one for a short while but then it is to the next game and the final four of our region."

UP NEXT:

The Hawks will advance to the Semifinal Round of the Region XI Division II Women's Basketball Tournament and will duel with Iowa Western Community College at 3 p.m. Saturday on the campus of Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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