Point Lookout, MO – (4) Houghton University would win a double-overtime thriller to take seventh place at the NCCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship, while (6) Southwestern Christian would cruise past (8) Paine College to take fifth. Tomorrow the Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship will conclude with the third-place game at noon CT and the title game scheduled for 5 p.m. CT between (1) College of the Ozarks and (2) Bethel University. Follow all the action and latest tournament updates here.

7^th Place Game: #4 Houghton University - 85 #7 Asbury University – 79 (2OT)

• With both sides looking for their first win of the tournament, Asbury University would double-up Houghton early after an Emily Sizemore layup made it 10-5. 
• Houghton responded with a 10-3 run to lead at the end of the first quarter, 15-13. Both sides created turnovers in the first quarter, each tallying three steals. 
• Asbury would regain the lead in the second quarter at 21-19 on a Ma’Kiya West jumper. After the bucket, Houghton would rattle off three makes from behind the arc to garnish their largest lead of the game, 31-23. The Highlanders would lead 33-27 at the half. 
• The full court pressure Houghton put on display early in the third quarter would force Asbury into their 11^th turnover of the game. On the offensive end, Tabitha DeVries would hit a spinning layup late in the period to give the Highlanders their first double-digit lead of the game, 43-33. 
• Turnovers continued to cost the Eagles as Houghton would lead 56-46 at the end of the third quarter. 
• The resilient Eagles refused to quit in the fourth quarter, storming back to cut it to a one possession game with 4:09 to play. After multiple missed attempts from three to tie it, some crucial Houghton missed free throws and some success in the lane allowed Ma’Kiya West a chance to tie it at the free throw line with less than a second on the clock. West would go a perfect 2-2 from the stripe to tie the game at 63 and force overtime. 
• In the overtime period neither side could separate with the largest lead being three. The free throw line proved crucial in the extra five minutes, as Houghton would redeem their struggles in the fourth quarter to go 4-5 from the stripe, while Asbury would go 2-7.
• With the game tied at 73, Houghton would get the ball with 11 seconds to go. The Highlanders would see Tabitha DeVries get off a three at the buzzer, but she was unable to hit forcing a second overtime. 
• Houghton’s Emma Huedepohl would hit the dagger three that would finally create separation with 1:47 to play in double-overtime putting the Highlanders up five, 80-75. Tabitha DeVries would hit the necessary free throws to keep Houghton in front as they secured a 85-79 double-overtime victory. 

5^th Place Game: #6 Southwestern Christian University - 87 #8 Paine College - 66

• Jayden Mason started off the fifth-place game with a bang for Southwestern Christian scoring seven of the first 10 points to help the Eagles get out to a 10-4 lead over Paine College. 
• Paine would use a timeout after Southwestern Christian increased their lead to 14-6 with 4:04 to play in the first quarter. The timeout settled the Lions on the offensive end as they would end the first quarter on a 9-4 run behind seven first quarter points from Adia Dormu. 
• The Southwestern Christian defense would dominate the second quarter. The Eagles held Paine scoreless through the first four and a half minutes of the period to increase their lead to 25-15. The two sides would only combine for eight field goals in the second quarter, but Southwestern Christian would hit eight free throws to lead 37-24 at halftime. 
• Both offenses picked up in the third quarter. as the two sides both shot 66.7% through the first five minutes. Southwestern Christian would continue to lead 52-36. 
• Paine would start to full court press at the end of the third quarter looking to find a way back into the game, but they were unable to slow down the Eagles offense as Southwestern Christian would hold a 65-49 advantage going into the final 10 minutes of play. 
• Paine would refuse to quit outscoring the Eagles 12-4 to start the fourth quarter. It would be too-little-too-late though for the Lions as Southwestern Christian was able to dominate the last five minutes on their way to an 87-66 victory to earn fifth place at the NCCAA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship. 

About the NCCAA
Established in 1968, the National Christian College Athletic Association uses intercollegiate athletics to further the Great Commission and is committed to equipping student-athletes and coaches to make a positive impact for Christ. The NCCAA currently holds 23 national championship events, along with one national invitational for 88 member schools across 28 states and two Canadian provinces. For more information on the NCCAA, visit our website, thenccaa.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @thenccaa.