The Dominican University Stars punched their ticket into the semifinals of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Women's Basketball Tournament with a 55-35 win over the Aurora University Spartans on Tuesday night at the Igini Sports Forum. The Stars held the Spartans more than 30 points under their season average, limiting Aurora to just ten field goals on the night.
Nyema Burns, a junior center, logged the first ever triple-double in NACC Women's Basketball Tournament history, logging a game-high 18 rebounds and ten blocks to go along with 11 points.
"All of her hard work is truly paying off," exclaimed Amanda Parker, the Stars' first-year head coach, when asked about Burns's night. "She had an absolutely incredible performance and I am overjoyed for her!"
Leading by just two, 31-29, after three quarters, the Stars went on a 13-0 run to start the fourth quarter, capped by an
Amari Stafford three to open a 44-29 lead and never looked back.
Dominican shot 6-for-13 from the field in the fourth and converted on 11 of 15 attempts from the foul line while holding the Spartans to just one fourth-quarter field goal and forcing seven Aurora turnovers.
"We were fantastic on the defensive end all game," said Parker. "We forced Aurora into some tough shots and then made some big plays on the offensive end—in crucial moments of the game."
"It was an awesome win in front of a roaring Dominican crowd," continued Parker. "This was a collective effort and I could not be more proud of this team. Through all the adversity, they continue to amaze me."
Timiya Ray finished the night with a team-high 13 points to lead three in double-figures scoring for Dominican. Stafford added 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including going 2-for-3 from three while Burns chipped in 11, scoring nine in the second half.
For Burns, the 11 points, 18 rebounds and ten blocks were all career-highs and her performance was just the third triple-double in Dominican University women's basketball history since the Stars joined the NCAA Division III ranks in 2000. The last happened back on February 20, 2010, when Sara Budz, now in the Dominican University Athletics Hall of Fame, logged 14 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists in an 82-55 win over Mount Mary College.
Dominican shot just .339 in the winning effort but held the visiting Spartans to a .175 shooting percentage with 17 blocks as a team.
For the Spartans, Julie Galauner scored a game-high 15 points on 5-for-19 shooting while Alyssa Brems added ten points, scoring her 1,000th career point in the game's final minute.
Dominican, the four-seed in the NACC Tournament, will now face the top-seeded Wisconsin Lutheran College in the semifinals on Friday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Warriors Rex Complex.
