Back-To-Back Champs; Reiver Women Win Region XI

Back-To-Back Champs; Reiver Women Win Region XI
March 1, 2020

Article courtesy of the Daily Nonpareil

Council Bluffs, IA - Eleven Iowa Western players scored Saturday as the Reivers rolled past Northeastern 92-57 in the Region XI championship at Reiver Arena.

The win advances the Reivers (19-10) to Friday's Central District championship, where they will face Moberly Area at Reiver Arena at 7 p.m. with a trip to the national tournament on the line.

The Reivers dropped a 70-62 decision to Moberly at Reiver Arena when the teams last met Feb. 8. "We get a chance to redeem ourselves, and I'm excited about that," IWCC coach Lindsey Vande Hoef said. "It's nice to have a home district game because the other two years we've won this, we've always had to play in Missouri."

In Saturday's Region XI final, the Reivers offense found a rhythm, scoring at least 20 points in all four quarters and shooting 48.6% from the field (35 of 72). IWCC was just as lethal with its 3-point shooting, converting on 15 of 31 attempts (48.4%).

Nyah Morris-Nelson led five Reivers in double figures with 17 points. Sommer Blakemore and Ladun Akako each had 12, Jaiden Morris finished with 11 and Britney Epperson 10. "We had multiple people that we were able to count on to step up and score," Vande Hoef said. "We shared the ball well, and it was selfless basketball. We were all on the same mission of taking care of business. Everyone bought into the game plan to push the ball. ... Tonight, we had some other people step up, and we were getting some good looks in the paint.