SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Britt Harris scored a game-high 24 points, nine of them in overtime, as Western Washington defeated Nova Southeastern 80-76 on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II women’s basketball tournament.
Western Washington plays Ashland in today’s semifinal game, which begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on CBS Sportsnet and Root Sports Northwest.
Ashland (35-1) advanced with a 74-63 victory over Gannon.
Harris, who played at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, made 9-of-12 shots and had 10 rebounds as the No. 5-ranked Vikings improved to 29-3 with their 12th straight win.
Corinn Waltrip had 21 points and six assists for Western and forced overtime with a driving bank shot with nine seconds to play in regulation.
Tailor Jones led Nova Southeastern (23-9) with 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Vikings led by as many as 17 points in the first half and held a 42-29 lead at halftime after shooting 68.0 percent (17-of-25) from the field.
But Nova Southeastern rallied using defensive pressure that forced 29 WWU turnovers in the game. Trailing by eight, 62-54, with eight minutes to play, the Sharks ran off 10 straight points, taking a 64-62 lead on a Jones free throw with 4:05 left.
Neither team led by more than two in regulation after that. Amanda Burakoski’s jumper gave NSU a 68-66 lead with 1:33 left, but after both teams missed on their next possessions, Waltrip drove the right side and hit a bank shot of about eight feet to tie the score. NSU’s Meixandra Porter drove the length of the floor and missed a 12-footer, and Burakoski’s putback attempt was off left, forcing overtime.
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