Uniontown, PA - For the second straight year, the Villa Maria College women's basketball team is heading to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Final Four.  Shaquana Owens stuffed the stat sheet and Tekia Gary provided instant offense off the bench as the sixth-seeded Vikings upended the third seed, University of Maine Augusta 74-60 in the National Quarterfinal on Thursday evening in Maltho Gymnasium on the campus of Penn State Fayette.

Owens, the recently named USCAA National Player of the Year, finished with a game-high 20 points and 13 assists.  She added seven rebounds, six steals and two blocks.  Gary scored 16 off the bench on 8-of-9 shooting.  Villa shot 48.5 percent from the floor for the game and 38.1 percent from beyond the arc.  

The Vikings jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before UMA tied the game at seven.  Owens connected on a triple to break the tie before Villa increased it's early lead to 12-8 with 3:51 left in the opening quarter.  UMA then scored eight straight to take a four point lead of their own before Owens put home another three with two seconds left in the quarter to cut the deficit to one.

UMA increased it's lead to five in the early stages of the second quarter with back-to-back triples to open the quarter.  Villa then used a 6-0 run with baskets by senior Clarissa Walker, Gary and Owens to take a 23-22 lead.  After a made free throw by UMA tied the game at 23, Villa took command, hitting two straight threes, this time by sophomore Leah McQuiller and senior Dominique Davis.  Villa was able to take an eight point lead (42-34) into halftime.

Villa increased it's lead to 15 midway through the third quarter and led by 10 after three.  They never trailed in the second half and led by as many as 16.

Villa held UMA to 29.7 percent shooting and 27 percent from beyond the arc. They came into the game leading the country in three point field goal percentage (36.4).  

Walker was the third Villa player to score in double-figures as the senior netted 10 points and corralled eight rebounds.  Davis, along with sophomore Nina Cray, each scored nine points.  Davis added five assists while Cray had a game-high 15 rebounds.  McQuiller scored seven points and added five rebounds and a game-high four blocks off the bench.

Villa will now take on second-seeded Johnson and Wales University Charlotte at 7 p.m. on Friday in the National Semifinal.  

BOX SCORE
Villa Maria Vikings (23-7, 4-1)         15 - 27 - 12 - 20 -- 74
Maine Augusta (22-6, 13-3)            16 - 18 - 10 - 16 -- 60

INSIDE THE BOX
* Villa finished with 23 assists on 32 made baskets
* The Vikings shot 48.5 percent for the game and held UMA to 29.7 percent
* Villa had six blocks
* Villa forced 22 turnovers which led directly to 24 points
* Villa held an advantage in bench points (23-13)
* Villa had five second chance points… UMA had 17
* Villa was out-rebounded 50-44
* Villa held UMA to 10-37 shooting from beyond the arc
* Villa's largest lead was 16... UMA's largest lead was five
* There were two ties and one lead change

WHAT THEY SAID
HC Al Monaco: "This is another big win and step for our program.  Maine came into this game ranked third and we were able to control most of the game.  Shaquana was once again spectacular and we got big contributions from Tekia (Gary) and Leah (McQuiller) off the bench.  We get another chance to showcase our talents against another elite competitor in Johnson and Wales.  We are looking forward to it."

UP NEXT
Villa will now take on second-seeded Johnson and Wales University Charlotte (21-4) at 7 p.m. on Friday in the National Semifinal.  

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