SIOUX CITY, IA. - Indiana Wesleyan women's basketball's hopes of raising a Red Banner in Luckey Arena fell just short on Tuesday night, falling 82-71. The Wildcats mounted a furious fourth quarter comeback attempt that saw them trim a 22 point lead to 9 in just 3 minutes. IWU would get the lead down to as little as 5, but the red and gray would run out of time. Maddie Lawrence, Lilli Frasure, Izzy Reed, Jade Nutley, and Taylor Folkema finished their Wildcat careers with an NAIA Runner-Up finish.
- Location: Sioux City, IA | Tyson Events Center
- Records: IWU: 34-3 | DU: 35-2
- NAIA Seeding: IWU - #1 | DU - #1
- The title game started with an evenly matched first quarter where IWU found themselves trailing by just 3 at the end of the frame.
- Momentum quickly shifted in the Defenders' favor in the second quarter. Dordt used a 12-0 run to open the quarter. IWU would score just 8 points in the frame and trailed by 14 at half.
- The squads again played an even quarter in the third, but a 7-1 run to end the frame by Dordt saw them extend their lead to 20 heading into the final quarter.
- The Defender's scored on a layup to open the final frame before a quick 13-0 run from the Wildcats, fueled by a pair of Emily Mattingly threes and 5 points from Maddie Lawrence cut the lead to 9 with 7 minutes left. Lawrence again stepped up with 55 seconds left, nailing another long range shot to cut the lead to 5, but a Wildcat foul and a Dordt offensive rebound sealed the win for DU.
- 159: Maddie Lawrence wraps up her five year Wildcat career having played a program record 159 games.
- 34: The 34 wins this season are the program's top mark since 2012-13.
- 5: IWU trimmed a 22 point 4th quarter deficit to just 5 points with 55 seconds left before running out of time.
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