Principia College concluded a historic tournament run with a 69-67 win over Webster University to secure the program's first-ever SLIAC Women's Basketball Championship. Principia, which did not sponsor a team just four years ago, became the first #4 seed in tournament history to win the championship. They did so by beating the top seeds, co-regular season champions Westminster College and Webster. Just two days after tying the conference record for biggest tournament upset in conference history, defeating a team that had six more SLIAC wins during the regular season, Principia matched that again with Saturday's win over Webster.
Three-time defending champion Webster University held a 31-23 lead at halftime when Principia's offense finally started to find a rythym in the game's final 15 minutes. Webster was up by ten with five-minutes left in the 3rd quarter when Trinniti Matthews sparked a 9-1 run for Principia to close out the quarter and bring the Panthers within one point. Webster responded with a run of their own, opening the lead back up to nine after a three from Emily Kerce. Webster was up 60-52 with 3:55 on the clock but committed two turnovers and missed two shots on their next four possessions.
That was all Principia needed as they hit five consecutive shots during that stretch to take the lead. A Hannah Myers three evened the game up at 60-60 with 2:34 left and Matthews gave the Panthers the lead on their next trip down the court, converting a three-point play after getting fouled on a lay-up. The teams traded free-throws over the next two-minutes with Bethany Lancaster giving Webster a 66-65 lead with 31-seconds left. Emily Wilson added another free-throw for Webster moments later and the Gorloks held a two-point lead with 24-seconds on the clock.
Principia was able grab an offensive rebound to keep their hopes alive with Genesis Santiago hitting a jumper with
13-seconds left to draw the teams even. After Webster missed a shot in the paint with six-seconds left, Principia grabbed the rebound and quickly hit Myers on a fast break layup at the buzzer to give Principia a 69-67 win.
The win not only gives Principia College the program's first-ever SLIAC Women's Basketball Championship but means they take the conference's automatic qualifier spot to the 2025 NCAA Division III Tournament. The tournament field and pairings will be announced on Monday by the NCAA.
Principia shot 37-percent from the floor but hit 56-percent of their shots in the 4th quarter. They finished 7-of-18 from three-point range, their best shooting percentage this season. Matthews finished with 20 points and was named Tournament MVP while her teammates Arianna Williams and Lamiya Terrell also earned All-Tournament honors.
Webster shot 38-percent from the floor and committed 22 turnovers. Emilly Wilson and Aleyna Sherman were named to the All-Tournament team.
Also earning All-Tournament honors were: Miya Webb of Eureka College, Mia DeJesus of Greenville University, Nicole Hollowell of Spalding University, and Caragan Lockard of Westminster College.