DE PERE - St. Norbert College broke open a close game with a big fourth quarter to claim a 59-46 win over Edgewood College in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinal game at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.
The Green Knights (18-9), who have won 12 consecutive games, will face Wisconsin Lutheran College (22-4) in the NACC Tournament championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, at Time of Grace Center in Milwaukee.
St. Norbert held a 36-34 lead after three quarters before scoring 23 fourth-quarter points to advance to the NACC Tournament championship game for the third time in as many years. The Green Knights opened the fourth quarter on a decisive 7-0 run.
Marnie Kahl opened the quarter with a jumper in the paint, followed by a 3-pointer from
Casey Jepson.
Taylor Thiry's tough finish on the block made it 43-34 with 7:31 to go. Edgewood then scored but the Green Knights responded with a pair of Thiry free throws and a Jepson layup. Edgewood scored again and Jepson went back to the same move to finish at the rim for a 49-38 lead with 5:17 left. Jepson then drained a 3-pointer at the 4:32 mark and
Emma Morrisey splashed a trey of her own for a 55-38 lead with 3:03 to go. Jepson finished another layup with 2:07 left and a 57-38 lead to cap an impressive 21-4 run.
The first quarter featured six ties, the last coming at 15-15 at the end of the period. Edgewood would then open the second quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 24-17 lead after Kenzie Senffner banked in a 3-pointer with 5:58 left. St. Norbert immediately came back with a 7-0 run on a Jepson 3-pointer, a Thiry layup and a
Chloe Gruszynski layup to knot the score at 24-24 with 2:48 left. Edgewood would take a quick five-point lead, but
Macey Mercer's late 3-pointer cut the deficit to 29-27 at halftime.
Points were at a premium in the third quarter, with St. Norbert outscoring Edgewood 9-5 in the stanza. The Eagles had their last lead at 31-30, scoring with 7:12 left in the quarter. Neither team would score for over two minutes until a Gruszynski lead gave St. Norbert a 32-31 lead with 5:02 left. Following an Edgewood 3-pointer tied it at 34-34,
Oakley Witteck gave the Green Knights the lead for good with a hoop at 3:16 for the final points of the period.
St. Norbert shot 36.5 percent (23-for-63) and played an outstanding floor game with just five turnovers. Jepson scored a career-high 18 points, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter. Thiry had 10 points and six rebounds, while Morrisey had seven assists with five points.
Edgewood shot 40.5 percent (17-for-42) but were harried into 23 turnovers. Jayden Nortier had 12 points and Vivian Guerrero had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
