It's on to the quarterfinals of the NJCAA WBB DI Basketball Tournament for the Lady Cards.
Overcoming a slow offensive start, the 11th-seeded Lady Cards, playing in their 100th all-time national tournament game, raced away for a 75-49 win against sixth-seeded Southern Idaho.
The win moves the Lady Cards (27-6) into the Elite Eight, where they will face No. 3 seed Georgia Highlands (30-2) tonight at 7. Georgia Highlands, a 79-71 winner against No. 19 Hutchinson, is the highest remaining seed in the upset-filled tournament.
The TVCC-Georgia Highlands winner advances to the semifinals to play the Eastern Florida State-Jones winner at 6 p.m. Sunday.
One quarter into Friday's game against Southern Idaho at Rip Griffin Center on the campus of Lubbock Christian University, the Lady Cards had managed just five points and were trailing 9-5. What followed, once they were able to make Southern Idaho play at their pace was a good, old-fashioned blitzkrieg.
The Lady Cards, who led 26-21 at the half, outscored Southern Idaho 42-22 in the second and third quarters and put up a 28-count in the final period.
Abby Cater had a massive game for the Lady Cards, pouring in 21 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.
Kaila Kelley and Briana Peguero scored 13 points each and Mimi McCollister had 11 to also net double-digit scoring.
The Lady Cards were 23-of-37 from the free throw line and held a 54-39 rebounding edge. The forced 20 Southern Idaho turnovers scored 23 points off the miscues.
The Lady Cards are now 78-22 in national tournament games
