Ferrum's NCAA Tournament Action Photos
DANVILLE, Ky. — The Ferrum College women's basketball team's best season in program history came to an end on Friday night, falling to ninth-ranked Washington University-St. Louis, 79-64, in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.
FC wraps up its record at 23-6—the 23 wins and six losses are both program records (most wins in a season and fewest losses). Ferrum also set a new record for most points scored in a season with 2,239.
Wash. U. (21-5) moves on to the second round to face regional host and 22nd-ranked Centre College, who defeated Guilford College 59-47 late Friday night.
The Black and Gold traded punch-for-punch with the perennial women's basketball powerhouse for 30 of the 40 minutes.
The Bears grabbed an early 7-2 lead just over two minutes into the contest. The Panthers roared back to take their only lead of the game, 11-10, after a
Tesla Akers layup.
After
Kristen Keith cashed in 1-of-2 free throws to tie the score at 14, Washington-St. Louis closed the first frame on a 29-10 run, to take a 43-24 halftime advantage.
Keith completed an and-one play, followed by a
Katy Kipps free throw and a
Jacole Hairston 3-pointer, to cut the deficit to 49-33 at the 15:14 mark.
The Bears extended their lead to 69-49 after Brianne Monahan's deuce, but Ferrum refused to go away without a fight. The Panthers clawed back to within 72-58, thanks to
Kylene Culler's put-back layup with 3:40 showing on the clock.
Shea Smith stole an inbounds pass and converted the deuce to trim the Bear lead to 14, 76-62, with 57 seconds remaining. However, the Red and Green put away their free throws down the stretch to advance to the second round.
The Panthers only connected on 35.2 percent of their shots, while WU-STL shot 43.1 percent from the floor. FC was only out-rebounded by four, 44-40, against the much taller Bears.
Keith and Smith led Ferrum in scoring with 12 points each. Keith, who also had a team-high nine rebounds, finished her stellar career with 1,491 points—third on the all-time scoring list.
Hairston and Kipps chalked up nine points apiece for the Panthers, who swatted eights shots.
Monahan finished with a career-high 18 points for Wash. U. Freshman Melissa Gilkey flirted with a triple-double, tallying 16 points, nine rebounds, and seven blocked shots. Hoover added 11 for the Bears.
Washington-St. Louis connected on 19-of-22 (86.4 percent) free throws and blocked 12 shots, which is a school record.
The Panthers return 12 letterwinners next season to help the Black and Gold defend their USA South regular season and tournament titles.
