Reinhardt Advances to NAIA National Championship Game

(Story provided by NAIA Sports Communications)

SAVANNAH, Ga. – [Final Site Schedule] [Bracket] The 2024 NAIA Women's Lacrosse National Championship continued today with semifinal action at Memorial Stadium in Savannah, Ga. as four teams looked to secure a win today for a chance at the coveted red banner on Saturday. Top-seeded Reinhardt took care of business to open the day with a dominant 18-8 win over SCAD Savannah (Ga.). In game two, Cumberlands (Ky.) was off to a hot start; but the physicality of play from Lawrence Tech (Mich.) worked out in their favor down the stretch as the Blue Devils are back in the championship match once again looking to claim yet another national championship title.

GAME NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS

No. 1 Reinhardt (Ga.) def. No. 4 SCAD Savannah (Ga.), 18-8

• After a five-goal start to the game from four different Reinhardt players, the Bees got on the board for the first time with 4:19 to play in the first from Clarke Haas.
• RU answered with 2:50 to play in the opening quarter with their sixth goal of the game and Kelsey Sowa's second in the match.
• SCAD continued to battle late into the first quarter as Haas picked up her second and team's second goal of the game to trail by four with a minute and 24 seconds still on the clock.
• The Bees came out quick in the second quarter with just their third and fourth goals of the game from a free position shot by Ainsley Jones, and a close-range shot from McKinsey Brown as they trailed by only two just 46 seconds into the second.
• After Reinhardt's first timeout of the half, they sent three shots on goal, one of which was a free position shot and forced Madison Hasty to come up with the reaction save, to keep the Bees margin at two.
• Reinhardt picked up their seventh goal of the half as Gazzo earned the free position shot opportunity and was able to convert.
• On the restart, SCAD won the draw, a ground ball, and then proceeded to cap off the possession with less than ten seconds on the shot clock with a goal from Annise Berkeley for a 7-5 game. 48 seconds later, McKinsey Brown grabbed a goal of her own, to cut the margin even further with 6:12 to play as they trailed by only one.
• Then it wasn't long before the game was tied at seven. After the free possession shot was wide, SCAD retained possession to sneak a shot past the Eagles goalkeeper with 5:07 to play in the half.
• Macy Fulton got Reinhardt on the board first to start the second half for her ninth goal this season and the ninth goal for the Eagles in this game with 11:13 to play.
• RU continued to extend their lead in the third quarter, with another goal out of the stick of Mia Griswold, then Fulton to push the margin to 11-7 with 6:08 to play in the third, forcing the Bees to call their first timeout.
• Hasty continued to stand tall between the sticks as the third quarter reached 3:15 to play after SCAD picked up the ground ball and fired a shot just two yards out, as she picked up her 12^th save of the match.
• The save on the defensive end, turned into a transition as the Eagles pushed the field and found Shelby O'Neil for the 12^th goal of the match and the five-goal lead.
• After a five-goal performance from RU in the third, they held the Bees scoreless for a 13-7 advantage.
• RU tallied five goals in the third quarter and two more in the fourth before SCAD found their first of the second half with 6:13 to play in the game.
• The Eagles answered with their 16^th of the game and Jilliam Mello's fourth of the match to lead 16-8 with 5:14 to play.
• RU added two more goals late in the final two minutes of play, for the 18-8 victory over SCAD to punch their ticket to championship Saturday.

No. 3 Lawrence Tech (Mich.) def. No. 2 Cumberlands (Ky.), 13-8

• The Patriots struck first in the second game of the semifinal day against the reigning NAIA Women's Lacrosse Champions, as Aleyah Belton converted on the free position shot just a minute and 12 seconds in.
• Both UC and the Blue Devils were evenly matched through the first ten minutes of play, but after a second free-position goal from Belton, Cumberlands found themselves up by two.
• LTU got on the board with 2:43 left in the opening quarter on a free position shot of their own as Alaina Smythe connected with Hannah Huebner to cut the lead in half, 2-1.
• Huebner tied the game with 1:56 left in the first as she was able to collect the loose ball right in front of the goal and dump it in.
• The Patriots had a chance just moments later after Koral Hadac won the draw, but Anabelle Acluche, the goalkeeper for LTU, tracked the quick shot in to make the save.
• UC continued to find ways to clear and push the ball forward in the second quarter, as Ashlee Baker found a pair of back-to-back goals herself with 12 and 10 minutes left in the half to widen the margin to 4-2.
• A minute and a half later, Mia Bosah collected a big save between the sticks to keep the Patriots ahead.
• The Blue Devils continued to stay persistent in their attack throughout the first half, as Sydney Robinson and Smythe each grabbed a goal one minute apart to tie this game back up at 4-all.
• Lawrence Tech grabbed their first lead of this game with 1:48 to play in the second quarter after Smythe bounced her shot into the net for the 5-4 upper hand.
• Both the Patriots and Blue Devils were nearly even across the board in the first half with shots (16-14), saves (5-5), draw controls (6-5), and ground balls (11-10).
• LTU opened the second half scoring first, with a Huebner goal two minutes into the quarter, to extend their lead to 6-4.
• Acluche continued to be a strong force in goal for the Blue Devils and for the second time in the third quarter a big save from her turned into a goal for LTU as Huebner scored on the transition for the 9-5 lead with 6:11 on the clock.
• The third quarter of play was all LTU, the Blue Devils turned defense into offense multiple times, as they added seven goals to the Patriots one to turn all momentum in favor of Lawrence Tech with a 12-5 lead.
• Cumberlands entered the fourth quarter down 12-5, they pushed in their attempt to come from behind, with three goals but LTU put one in the net with 10:23 to play in the game and the margin was to big for the Patriots to change the momentum of the game.
• Despite the scoreline, UC led in several categories including shots (33-29), draw controls (15-10), and free position goals (30%-25%).