The Charger women's basketball team is off to a strong start in the NAIA National Tournament, taking down Mid-America Christian in the opening round 81-67 in Wichita, Kansas Friday afternoon.
After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Cliff went on a 6-0 run in the final minute to take a 22-16 lead after one capped by a layup from
Mallie McNair. Back-to-back baskets from
Rachel Langel and Sodeman pushed the Charger lead to eight coming out of intermission. The Chargers late buried two threes from
Payton Slaughter and
Konnor Sudmann put the Cliff up 35-27 late in the second quarter. Sodeman scored five points late in the quarter along with a basket from McNair gave BCU a 15-point lead heading into halftime.
The Chargers in the second half stayed hot offensively, never giving up their lead and leading by 20 with a little over a minute to play following a pair of free throws from
Kenna Mongan.
McNair led the Chargers in scoring with 22 points and went eight-for-15 from the field and knocked down four threes in the game. Sudmann scored 20 points and dished out five assists.
Kennedy Benne chipped in 13 points and grabbed seven boards while recording two steals. Sodeman provided a big boost off the bench, scoring nine points and shot four-for-seven from the field.
The Charger offense shot 48% from the field and 43% from three in the contest.
The Chargers move on to the round of 32 of the NAIA National Tournament and will take on Vanguard (CA) at 3 p.m. inside the Garvey Center in Wichita, Kansas.
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