MONTGOMERY, Ala. – No. 8 seed Blue Mountain Christian Women pulled off a massive upset victory here Thursday afternoon over undefeated and SSAC top seed William Carey in the quarterfinals of the conference championship Thursday, winning 60-57.
The biggest factor in the Lady Toppers' upset was free-throw accuracy, as BMCU would nail 18 of its 20 free-throw attempts to seal the victory against the No. 15 nationally ranked Crusaders.
The tide would turn in the third quarter, as Carey would lead by eight at the 7:30 mark. The Lady Toppers starting chipping away when Guy worked her way through the paint for a layup.
It was followed by a fastbreak layup from
Maddie Kirk and pair of free-throws from
Isabella Carlson.
Guy would give BMCU the lead with two free-throws at 2:35, and SSAC All-Freshman member
McKenzie Williams scored consecutive buckets to give the Toppers a 43-41 lead.
Two more free-throws before the buzzer from Guy gave BMCU a 45-43 lead heading into the fourth.
Carlson and Guy would hit huge threes in the fourth, and Guy would seal the deal with four consecutive free-throws with less than 30 seconds in the game.
"I'm so proud our toughness today," BMCU head coach
Tracy Rice said. "We hit big shots and were solid at the free-throw line. Our rebounding was better the second half, and that made a huge difference. I could not be prouder of our team and their belief and execution."
Guy finished with 22 points to lead all scorers, followed by Carlson with 10.
Charnita Brooks and
Maddie Kirk both chipped in eight apiece, and Williams had six with nine rebounds.
The loss for Carey was the first time a top seeded SSAC Championship team has tasted defeated in the quarterfinals since the 2012-13 season.
It also wasn't the first time BMCU had Carey on the ropes, the Lady Toppers took the Crusaders to triple overtime early in the season.
Next up for the Lady Toppers is No. 4 seed UT-Southern Friday in the semifinals at 1 p.m. CT at the Cramton Multiplex in Montgomery, Ala. with a spot in Saturday's final on the line.
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