UNIONTOWN, PA - They overcame adversity, some bad bounces and foul trouble, and as a result, the Villa Maria College women's basketball program will play for a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Championship. Top-seeded Villa outlasted defending national champion, and fourth-seeded Johnson & Wales 66-62 in overtime on Tuesday afternoon to set-up a matchup with second-seeded Central Maine.
Villa senior
Shaquana Owens scored a game-high 23 points and corralled 10 rebounds to help push Villa to a thrilling victory in it's third straight Final Four game in as many years. She scored 15 of her 23 points in the second half, a half in which Villa lost two players to foul disqualifications.
Villa got off to a fast start, opening the game on a 12-3 run. The Wildcats answered that with a 16-0 run to take a 19-12 lead. After both teams came out with first round knockout punches, the offense slowed and the defensive intensity picked up. Villa took a 37-31 lead into halftime.
Villa held a seven-point edge in the early stages of the fourth quarter but the Wildcats again answered with an 8-0 run to take a one-point edge. After the game saw three ties after that, Villa took a two-point lead in the last minute before Johnson & Wales eventually hit two free throws with nine seconds to tie game. A last second three by junior
Shamecca Minor was off the mark which sent the game to overtime.
In the overtime session, without key players
Armoni Jordan and
Tekia Gary who fouled out in regulation, Villa held Johnson & Wales to 1-for-9 shooting and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. After the Wildcats opened with it's only field goal, Villa scored the remaining points of the game. Junior
Bianca Brown hit the eventual game-winning three with 3:06 left. Villa was able to hold the Wildcats scoreless the rest of the way.
Villa is set to do battle with perennial contender Central Maine at 2 p.m. on Wednesday on the campus of Penn State Fayette. A National Championship will be the prize for the winner.
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