It was a sweep for the St. Norbert men’s and women’s basketball teams in Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference quarterfinal games at the Mulva Family and Fitness Center Wednesday night.
Ladies first.
The Green Knights, seeded second, defeated Rockford 60-46. SNC jumped out to a 20-8 lead after the opening quarter thanks to a hot start from Mary Cravillion. She opened the game with a three pointer and scored 13 of her career high 16 points in the first half. Rockford battled back with post player Anaya Davis piling up a game high 25. In the third quarter, senior Olivia DeCleene scored 13 of her 14 points as St. Nobert took a 55-36 lead into the final period. But the Green Knights cooled off scoring only five in the 4th quarter but never closed the gap. The Lady Knights improve to 18-7 on the season and they will host Benedictine in the NACC semifinal game in De Pere Friday night at 7:00 PM.
The top seeds, Wisconsin Lutheran, barely survived an upset at the hands of 8th seeded Lakeland, getting a laypup with :06 remaining to advance 52-51. Wisconsin Lutheran will host Edgewood College in the other semifinal game.
In the nightcap, it took overtime for St. Norbert to put away Wisconsin Lutheran 87-78. There was another fast start for the Knights who got out to a 19-5 lead and held a 28-18 advantage at the break. The pace picked up in the second half as the Warriors pulled even and a three point hit from Trevor Stiede put Lutheran up 66-64 with 1:25 left in regulation. Evan Glaser was able to score inside with :15 remaining with SNC getting a stop to force overtime. In the extra period, Jacob Bolwerk hit a pair of three point shots, one as the shot clock expired with 1:02 left to put the Knights up 80-72. St. Norbert hit 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute to preserve the win. The Green Knights (16-9) must now travel to Concordia University of Wisconsin in Mequon for the semifinal game on Friday night. Top seeded Concordia of Chicago will face 5th seeded Marian in the other semifinal game.
NACC Championship games will take place on Sunday with the men’s and women’s winners earning automatic bids into the NCAA III national tournament.
