MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In their first-ever appearance in the SSAC Tournament Championship Game, the Lady Crusaders went toe-to-toe with UT-Southern for 40 intense minutes, emerging with a 62–58 victory to capture the program's first SSAC Tournament Title.
Both teams opened the game cold, going nearly two minutes without a field goal as turnovers and missed layups piled up. Two early free throws gave the Firehawks a 2–0 lead before
Meyah Doyle scored in transition to tie it at 2–2 with seven minutes remaining.
Addyson Sherer followed with a layup to put Carey ahead 4–2, and
Bailey Devall extended the margin to 6–2 with a score inside. UT-Southern rallied late, as Ashley Dickey delivered a five-point burst—including a right-wing three with :43 left—to tie the game. The quarter ended deadlocked at 7–7.
The Lady Crusaders found early rhythm in the second quarter.
Jenna Garriga converted a three-point play, and
Alyssa Hillard knocked down a mid-range jumper to make it 12–9. But Tennessee Southern responded with an 8–2 run sparked by a Silkiari Vazquez-Troche layup and capped by a pair of Mia Jones free throws for a 17–14 edge.
The lead traded hands repeatedly from there. Garriga drilled a tying three (17–17),
Brooklyn Cuevas scored at the rim, and Sherer restored a 21–20 WCU lead with just over two minutes left. Sherer added another jumper late, but UT-Southern closed strong—Dickey completed an and-1, and Mycala Carney hit a pull-up at the buzzer—sending Carey to the locker room trailing 25–24.
Vazquez-Troche opened the third with another Firehawk layup, but Doyle answered and then took over briefly, scoring twice on drives to flip the deficit into a 30–27 Crusader lead.
After both sides traded free throws, Dickey tied the game at 32 entering the four-minute mark. Carey responded as Devall scored four straight and Cuevas sank two free throws for a 38–34 advantage. But once again UTS stormed back as Dickey tied it and Vazquez-Troche scored twice to edge the Firehawks ahead 43–40. Then came a huge lifeline —
Madelyn Ladner drew a foul on a last-second three and sank two shots, trimming it to 43–42 heading into a decisive fourth.
UT-Southern struck first in the final period with layups from Reid and Marypaz Martínez to make it 47–42. Carey responded with baskets from Sherer and Devall, and
Leah Sutton knocked down two free throws to cut it to 51–50 midway through. Moments later, Ladner delivered five straight points—including an and-one—to lift the Lady Crusaders to a 55–51 lead with just over two minutes remaining.
The Firehawks closed within one after Dickey's old-fashioned three-point play with 1:59 left, but Carey would not relinquish the lead again. Sutton added a free throw. Garriga cut to the rim for a clutch layup with 1:07 remaining to make it 58–56. And with the game on the line, Ladner stepped to the stripe like a seasoned veteran, draining four free throws in the final 24 seconds. Garriga added two more, and Doyle secured the final rebound as the horn sounded — and the celebration erupted.
Madelyn Ladner led the Lady Crusaders with 16 points, while
Jenna Garriga scored 12.
Bailey Devall added 10 points, and
Meyah Doyle grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds.
With the victory, William Carey claims the SSAC's second automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament, which begins March 13. The Lady Crusaders will learn their opening-round opponent and site during the NAIA selection show at 7 p.m. Thursday on YouTube.
