GLENVILLE, W.Va. – Dazha Congleton scored a game-high 27 points to lead #3 Glenville State (31-1) to an 82-70 win over Shepherd University (25-8) in semifinal action of the NCAA II Atlantic Regional Tournament action at Glenville State on Saturday night.
Graduate student forward Sydney Clayton (Frederick, Md./St. John's) led the Rams with 26 points. She connected on 12-of-21 field goals with a 2-of-2 effort from the foul line.
Sophomore guard Jordan Smith (Manassas, Va./Colgan) added a season-high14 points, while graduate student guard Marley McLaughlin (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield) and junior guard Abby Beeman (Ridgeley, W.Va./Frankfort) each scored 11. Beeman added a game and career-high 15 assists to post her 10th double-double of the season.
Senior guard Hannah Myers (York, Pa./Eastern York) grabbed a career and game-high 12 rebounds for the Rams.
Zakiyah Winfield added 19 points and 10 boards for the Pioneers. Re'Shawna Stone added 14 points.
Clayton scored 17 points and Beeman had 10 assists in the first half to help Shepherd take a 43-42 lead into the break.
Glenville State took a 59-58 lead into the fourth quarter. The Pioneers outscored Shepherd, 23-12, in the final stanza to pull away for the win. Clayton missed much of the quarter due to foul trouble and she fouled out with 1:36 left. The Pioneers finished the game on a 12-2 run.
Shepherd shot 52.5 percent (31-59) from the floor with a 33.3 percent effort (4-12) from three-point range for the game. The Rams connected on 100 percent (4-4) of their free throws.
Glenville State hit on 47.8 percent (32-67) from the floor with a 21.1 percent effort (4-19) from three-point range for the game. The Pioneers connected on 63.6 percent (14-22) of their free throws.
Shepherd had a 33-30 edge in rebounding. Shepherd forced 14 turnovers and committed 24.
Glenville State advances to face Charleston in the regional championship game at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.
Notes: Tonight's game was the final contest for seniors Sydney Clayton, Angela DeLorenzo, TaRaessha Henderson, Marley McLaughlin, Hannah Myers, and Madi White … Clayton finishes her career as the program's second-leading scorer with 1,749 career points … her 870 rebounds ranked her tied for third on the all-time list … McLaughlin had 1,382 career points to place fifth on the all-time list … her 149 three-pointers rank her fifth on the SU all-time list … Shepherd played a single-season record 33 games this season, eclipsing the old mark of 32 shared by the 2014-15 and 2016-17 teams.
