THE CHARGERS The No.4 seed Briar Cliff Chargers downed No. 13 Missouri Baptist Tuesday night 77-65 to advance to the NAIA National Tournament Second Round where they will face No. 5 seed Indiana Tech.
Briar Cliff was led by Payton Slaughter who tallied 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Madelyn Deitchler followed with 14 points and nine rebounds. Six total Chargers scored in double-digits as they secured win #25 on the season.
The Chargers earned an automatic bid to the National Tournament as the GPAC Postseason Tournament Champions. They began the conference tournament with an 85-82 OT thriller over Morningside. The two teams split the season series 1-1 with each team picking up a win on their home floor. In the semifinal round, Briar Cliff completed a three-game season sweep of Concordia 66-57.
The Chargers won the first and fourth quarters, outscoring the Defenders by a combined 18 points. Payton Slaughter recorded 23 points, eight rebounds, two steals and was 9-for-13 from the field. The Chargers shot over 70% from the field in both the first and fourth quarters, while shooting a red-hot 58.2% from the floor and 62.5% from deep for the game.
Briar Cliff is making their 15th appearance at the national tournament and their second consecutive appearance. The Chargers hold an all-time record of 28-14 in tournament play and have advanced to the Final Four five times, most recently in the 2014-15 season.
The Chargers current mark of 24 wins is the most since the Final Four team in the 2014-15 season which held a 26-10 mark.
Five Chargers were named all-GPAC, headlined by a first team nod for Konnor Sudmann and a co-Defensive Player of the Year honor for Kennedy Benne. All five of the BC starting five were named to the all-conference list.
Head coach Brian Ortmeier, alongside assistant coaches Connor Sonius and Emma Sterkel, guided the Chargers to the No. 2 seed in the GPAC tournament after posting a 17-5 record. Their 17 conference wins are the most in program history since joining the Great Plains Athletic Conference in 2002-03.
Since falling to Morningside in Allee Gym on February 4, the Chargers have stacked seven wins in a row. They've won three times on the road over the stretch, at Doane, Concordia and Dordt.
Over the last eight games, Konnor Sudmann is averaging 17.6 points on 51.6% shooting. Kennedy Benne has scored 12.4 ppg, knocked down 17 3-pointers at 43.6% with 23 steals. Payton Slaughter's added 14.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 14 steals. Madelyn Deitchler has added 10.3 points and 8.6 rebounds, while Peyton Wingert adds 8.5 and 6.1, respectively.
The Chargers concluded the home season in the NFC with a 12-2 mark, their best record on Ray Nacke Court since the 2012-13 season when they went 11-2. Since the start of the New Year, the Chargers have posted a 13-3 record, including an 8-1 record in the NFC.
Briar Cliff holds an 11-5 record on the road, with four of the five losses coming to teams ranked in the top-25 or receiving at the time of the contest. In contests decided by five points or less, the Chargers hold a 5-2 record.
Briar Cliff played three neutral site contests this season against Dakota State, Bellevue and Missorui Baptist.
Sudmann leads the Cliff in scoring and is second in the GPAC at 17.7 points per game, while handing out 3.4 assists per game. She shoots 47.8% from the field and a GPAC leading 87.3% from the free throwline. She's scored in double-digits in 11 straight games and scored 20+ in three of those games.
Madelyn Deitchler scores 13.3 ppg and grabs 6.8 rebounds per game, and Benne nets 11.5 points, 2.7 steals and has knocked down 38 treys. Slaughter scores 10.5 points, grabs a team high 7.1 rebounds and dishes out 3.0 assists.
Briar Cliff is 11-3 in contests that Benne records three or more steals, and 9-3 when Sudmann totals 20 or more points.
Sudmann's 565 total points ranks 15th in the NAIA and is 20th in free throw percentage (86.9%). As a team, the Chargers are 25th in free throw percentage (73.9%), and 19th in field goal percentage (44.6%) in the NAIA.
Benne's 76 steals rank 18th in the NAIA and first among GPAC players. Slaughter's 7.1 rebounds per contest are third most in the conference. BC ranks second in steals (10.2), free throws made (15.2), free throw attempts (20.3) and are third in points per game (75.5).
THE WARRIORS Indiana Tech qualified for the National Tournament as an automatic qualifier after winning the WHAC Regular Season Championship. The Warriors were ranked 16th in the final NAIA Top-25 Poll and hold a 27-5 overall record.
The Warriors are 16-3 in their home arena, the Schaefer Center, with their most recent loss coming to Rochester in their conference championship game.
The Indiana Tech offense runs through Kyra Whitaker who averages 16.4 points per game and Erika Foy who nets 15.5 per game. Whitaker's poured in over 20 points in 11 games 11 games and has knocked down three or more 3-pointers in 18 contests. Whitaker shoots 41.7% from the field and 38.5% from deep. Foy is a rebounding machine, averaging 9.9 boards per game. She has 17 games with double-digit rebounds and 16 double-doubles.
Indiana Tech beat Bryan 63-48 in the first round of the tournament behind Foy's 20-point, 14-rebound performance. The Warriors were up 47-44 at the end of the third quarter, but dominated the fourth period outscoring Bryan 16-4.
THE SERIES This is the first meeting between the Chargers and Warriors.
