The Lady Bobcats opened up their 2018 NAIA DII Women’s Basketball National Championship with a commanding win over Alice Lloyd College (Ky.), 78-51.
The Lady Bobcats posted a quick 4-0 lead before Alice Lloyd tied up the game at the 6:49 mark, 6-6 and took a 9-8 advantage. It was the last time, however, the Eagles would hold the lead in the game. College of the Ozarks (CofO) outscored the Eagles 13-5 in the final four minutes of the quarter to take a 25-16 lead and proceeded to increase their lead to 20 points by the close of the second quarter, 44-24. The Lady Cats shot 53.1% from the field and hit 5-of-10 three-pointers. Shelby Roberts led the first-half scoring with 11 points. The Lady Cats had only four turnovers compared to 11 by Alice Lloyd. Rebounding was relatively even, with CofO holding a 17-15 edge.
The big lead was quite advantageous to CofO, as they struggled to get a basket to fall, scoring only 11 points to 12 by the Eagles. The Cats were a rare 3-for-18 in field goals in the quarter. The final quarter saw some improvement, as the Cats went 6-for-16 from the field and outscored the Eagles, 23-15. The second half scoring for CofO was aided by free throws. Lakin Simmerman was 7-8 and Kelsie Cleeton went 5-6 at the charity stripe, as the Lady Cats on the whole were 18-for-22 on the day.
Highlights of the day featured:
*Â Â Lady Cats holding the Eagles to 51 points and a 29.3 field goal percentage;
*Â Â Kelsie Cleeton collecting her 20th double-double on the season with 13 points & 12 rebounds;
*  Four additional Lady Cats scoring in double figures—Simmerman, Roberts & Johnson all tallied 13 apiece, and Abby Oliver added 11;
*Â Â Simmerman just missed a double-double, hauling down 9 rebounds;
*Â Â CofO turned the ball over only 9 times, compared to 21 by Alice Lloyd;
*Â Â Shelby Roberts dished a team-leading 4 assists.
The Lady Cats (31-1) will face University of St. Francis (Ill.) on Friday at 5:15 p.m. St. Francis (21-9) entered the tournament ranked #19 in NAIA DII and moved into Friday’s round by defeating #14 Valley City State (N.D.), in a game that was much tighter than the final score of 56-47 indicated. The Lady Bobcats’ game will be covered on radio by 106.3 KRZK and may be watched online for a $9.95 fee via the NAIA Network athttps://portal.stretchinternet.com/naia/.
