DUBUQUE, Iowa – The (RV) Raven Women's Basketball team pushed (8) right down to the end of the game on Friday night as the two programs battled each other for a trip to the Heart Tournament Championship game.
A third-quarter offensive drought proved to play a factor in the final outcome for Benedictine as Clarke held off a late push by the Ravens to earn a 62-58.
Friday night's semifinal saw two ties and three lead changes. Benedictine pushed out early as they used their full-court pressure to jump out in front of Clarke. By the end of the first quarter, Clarke led by one point, and by halftime, the Pride were able to extend the advantage to five points.
Skylar Washington tied the game at 24 points with just under four points. The Ravens couldn't break through and regain the lead and the Pride jumped back up by five soon after. That was all the bigger the margin would get as the teams matched each other on the offensive end.
Clarke took an 8-point lead early in the third quarter, only to have Benedictineerase that advantage and pull even for a second time at 35 points on a shot by Alleigh Kramer with just under three minutes left in the quarter. Once again, the Ravens couldn't capitalize and take back the lead and with 13 seconds remaining in the quarter, the Pride's lead stood at 9 points.
No matter what the Ravens tried in the fourth quarter, they couldn't manage to cut into their deficit. The Pride managed to keep the Ravens at arm's length until a par of 3-pointers late by Washington allowed for the Ravens to pull within four.
The Ravens finished the game shooting 39.3 percent from the floor while hitting 50 percent off 5 of 10 3-pointers in the loss. Washington finished with a game-high 18 points. Natalie Smaron finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds while Ali Brzozowski added 12 points.
The Ravens finish their tournament run with an overall record of 17-8. The NAIA National Championship Selection Show is scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m. This year's tournament field is 48 teams reduced from the originally placed 64 that will first play at Opening Round sites on March 12-13 before 16 teams will advance to the National Championship site in Sioux City, Iowa, on March 18-23.
