WINONA LAKE, IN -- Carolina University Women's Basketball played the #5 seed Ecclesia College Royals at NCCAA DI National Tournament. The Bruins and Royals matched up in the consolation bracket of the tournament and were seeking an opportunity to play in the 5th place game. Ecclesia College opened up the game strong and used their 3-point shooting to create a 9 point lead early in the first quarter. The Bruins slowly chipped away at that lead and had it down to as few as 4, but closed the first quarter down 15-21. In the second quarter, the Royals built their lead back up, but the Bruins would not go away. Carolina University went on a 12-2 run and took the lead for the first time since the opening basket of the game. However, Ecclesia regained the lead 37-33 at the half. The Royals heated up again in the third quarter and stretched that lead to double-digits and took a 63-49 lead into the fourth quarter. The Bruins tried to rally, but came up short losing this game 67-85.

Ni'Jaa Wells continued her strong performance at the National Tournament with a career-high 18 points and 9 rebounds. Shantazia Gordon was also huge for the Bruins with a 10 point and 12 rebound double-double off the bench. Both of these marks are career highs for Gordon. Jada Sleet and Tazah Hardin each dished 5 assists and scored in double figures, 16 and 15 points respectively. 

Carolina University will now play Columbia International University in the 7th place game. The Bruins and the Rams have played twice this season with CIU winning each contest. Most recently, these two schools played for the NCCAA DI South Regional Title. The Bruins look forward to the challenge and opportunity to beat a familiar opponent to close out their season.