Oakland Wins Mid-Continent Title Game
--The Chicago Tribune
Oral Roberts puts end to Chicago State's dream--The Chicago Sun-Times
Oral Roberts 85, Chicago St. 72--The Chicago Sun-Times
Mid-Continent Championship: Oral Roberts 85, Chicago State 72--The Daily Southtown
College Basketball Roundup--The Daily Southtown
MID-CONTINENT TOURNAMENT
Oakland, Mich. 65, Western Illinois 56
TULSA, Okla. — Anne Hafeli matched her season high with 25 points and Nicole Piggott added 14 points and nine rebounds as Oakland upset top-seeded Western Illinois title game.
Zane Teilane scored a career-high 28 points and set a conference tournament record with 22 rebounds for Western Illinois (23-6), but the Westerwinds lost in the conference tournament after winning the regular-season title for the fourth straight season. It was the first time they made it as far as the championship game.
Sixth-seeded Oakland (15-15) beat the conference's top three seeds in ascending order to win the tournament.
COLLEGE ROUNDUP: Grizzlies grab NCAA berth--The Detroit Free Press
Oakland stages rerun for Francis--The Detroit News
Roundup--The Detroit News
Mid-Continent -- Oral Roberts 85, Chicago State 72: Ken Tutt scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half and Larry Owens had 24 points as Oral Roberts (21-11) earned its first NCAA Tournament spot in 22 years. David Holstson led Chicago State (11-19) with 21 points.
OU part deux--The Oakland Press
Oakland U.’s women equal feat of last year’s men, gain an NCAA tournament berth
By DUSTIN FRUCCI Special to The Oakland Press
TULSA, Okla. — For the second consecutive year, Oakland University is sending one of its basketball teams to the NCAA tournament.
The OU pep band and students chanted, “This is our house,” as the women’s team closed out a 65-56 win over No. 1 seed Western Illinois in the championship game of the Mid-Continent Conference tournament Tuesday at John Q. Hammons Arena. The victory came one year after the men’s team won the conference title in the same building.
The Golden Grizzlies become the first team in either the men’s or women’s bracket to beat the top three seeds en route to winning the Mid-Con tournament championship.
“This is surreal,” OU coach Beckie Francis said. “I can’t believe, in my first year back with the team, I was given such a gift. The team was amazing all three days.”
Senior Anne Hafeli led OU — as she did the previous two games.
Hafeli finished with 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting and went 8-for-8 from the freethrow line. She finished the tournament with 61 points and 12 3-pointers and shot 13 of 14 from the free-throw line on her way to being named the tournament’s MVP.
“We turned things around after the end of the season and just started having fun,” Hafeli said. “It’s really exciting to be where we are, and I’m just happy for the team.”
OU (15-15) led all but three minutes of the game and held the Westerwinds (23-6) to just 1-for-17 shooting from the 3-point line.
The Westerwinds’ Mid-Con player of the year, Zane Teilane, had a monster game with 28 points and 22 rebounds, but OU didn’t allow anyone else to get into double figures.
Junior Nicole Piggott finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds for OU and was named to the all tournament team.
“This has always been a goal of mine, and it’s the goal of any college basketball player,” Piggott said of the berth in the NCAA tournament. “I can’t wait for it to start.”
Though OU beat the top three seeds in the 17th-best conference in the RPI, Francis expects the Golden Grizzlies to be a No. 16 seed because of their record.
“We’re going to be playing one of the elite programs in the country,” she said. “We did it back in 2002 when we played Vanderbilt. We just have to worry about what we do and not be concerned with whoever we play.”
Seeding will be announced Sunday on ESPN, and the tournament begins March 18.
None of the current OU players has been to the NCAA tournament, but it’s starting to become routine for Francis. She led OU to an automatic birth in 2002, then resigned after the season because of health concerns.
Now back with the team after a three-year layoff, Francis has accomplished the feat in consecutive coaching years.
“I’m a different person than I was then,” Francis said. “I’m enjoying this run more than I did in 2002, because I’m putting less pressure on myself. When you put the game in perspective, you learn to enjoy it more.
“I’m just so happy for these seniors. They were just tired of getting close and seeing it slip away. They played with so much energy over these three days that they wouldn’t allow it to slip away this time.”
A year after the men’s team became the first No. 7 seed to win the Mid-Con tournament title; the women became the first No. 6 seed to do it. Francis said it’s something her team can use going into the Big Dance.
“We’re a little cocky right now,” she said. “We know what we can do, and we’re playing with a lot of confidence.”
ROUNDUP--The Oakland Press
ORU gets its Mid-Con title one season late
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TULSA, Okla. — Ken Tutt scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half, and Larry Owens added a career-high 24 points as Oral Roberts earned its first NCAA tournament berth in 22 years with an 85-72 win against Chicago State in the Mid-Continent Conference title game Tuesday night.
The top-seeded Golden Eagles (21-11), who lost a heartbreaker to Oakland University in their home city in last year’s Mid-Con title game, pushed ahead with an 18-0 run early in the second half.
Tutt hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer from the left wing to start the run, and Owens got an already-standing student section fired up in the south stands with a right-handed dunk right in front of them. Green capped the burst with a layup in transition that extended the lead to 62-44.
“We didn’t want to go through what we went through last year. It was a horrible feeling,” said Tutt, with a freshly cut basketball net dangling from his neck. “I would say that has been in the back of my mind this whole season. Every time I went in the gym, I just thought about that loss.”
Chicago State (11-19) tried to fight back with a pressing, man-to-man defense but that simply led to open shots for the Golden Eagles after they got into the frontcourt.
Oral Roberts’ lead reached 70-48 after two free throws by Green, who has attempted and made more foul shots than any player in the nation. Chicago State began cutting into the defi citwith three minutes left, but the final margin was as close as it got.
Eric Fowlkes dribbled out the final seconds before tossing the ball into the air and off the center-court scoreboard. Fans stormed the court and knocked over several Oral Roberts players in the process.
“We were so devastated. The pain never went away until we won this game tonight, for me at least,” ORU coach Scott Sutton said. “I knew that was the only way that I could get over that loss.”
Green finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for his 15th double-double and his 28th straight game with double-figure scoring.
David Holston (Auburn Hills Avondale) hit five 3-pointers and led Chicago State with 21 points. Michael Henderson added 13 points while Royce Parran, averaging a team-high 18.4 points, finished with eight after being held scoreless after halftime.
The Cougars led, 34-33, after a first half reminiscent of the Golden Eagles’ loss to Oakland in last year’s championship. In that game, Oakland’s Pierre Dukes hit an off-balance 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left to bring a shocking end Oral Roberts’ NCAA tournament hopes.
In only his seventh game back from a broken foot, Tutt made sure that wouldn’t happen again.
Postseason berth appears out of reach for Jaguars--The Indy Star
Westerwinds obliterate obstacle--The Macomb Journal
http://nwitimes.com/articles/2006/03/08/sports/top_sports/2b1298c339a72b128625712b00032cff.txt--The NWI Times
Slipper doesn't fit Carter, Cougars--The NWI Times
Mid-Con sweep eludes Western--The Peoria Journal Star
Francis leads Oakland back to NCAAs--The Spectrum
OR earns victory to remember--The Spectrum
Cougars End Season with 85-72 Lost to Oral Roberts in Mid-Con Tournament Finals--Chicago State Athletics
Golden Grizzlies Are Going Dancing!--OUGrizzlies.com
Sweet Redemption! Golden Eagles Down Chicago State to Reach NCAA Tournament for First Time in 22 Years--Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles
Braun Named to All-Tournament Team--www.valpo.edu
Top-Seed Western Illinois Falls to Six-Seed Oakland, 65-56, in Toshiba Mid-Con Championship Game--Western Illinois Athletics
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