Nebraska-Kearney doesn't have a lot of depth. The Lopers don't have much size, either.
But Concordia-St. Paul coach Paul Fessler said the Lopers have an intangible that doesn't show up on the stat sheet.
"Kearney works hard," Fessler said. "I don't know if I've played against a team that works as hard consistently as Kearney does."
Nebraska-Kearney's work ethic paid off Saturday night, as the Lopers beat Concordia-St. Paul 92-89 in overtime in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II North Central Region tournament in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
Kearney (22-9) will meet UND on Monday night for the North Central Region title. The winner advances, ironically, to Kearney for the NCAA Division II Elite Eight tournament.
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The Lopers are the surprise of the region tournament. They entered as the No. 7 seed, but upset No. 2 Augustana on Friday before managing to beat a Concordia-St. Paul team that had more depth and size in the semifinal round.
Liz Fischer led Kearney with 26 points. She was one of six Lopers in double figures. Jade Meads added 14, while Amy Mathis and Jonni Mildenberger each finished with 13. The Lopers used only seven players, and five played 35 or more minutes.
"We're not supposed to be here because we didn't win our conference nor our conference tournament," Kearney coach Carol Russell said. "We made it because the right teams won the other conference tournaments. The bottom line is that we fight, have grit and gut it out."
Kearney opened an 11-0 lead and led 39-33 at halftime. The Lopers led most of the second half until Kelly Lund's basket with 5:04 left gave Concordia-St. Paul a 71-70 lead. The lead changed hands four more times in regulation. Kearney forced overtime when Melissa Hinkley hit a 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds to play, tying the game at 82.
Jamie Edward hit a 3-pointer for Kearney to start overtime. The Lopers never trailed in the extra session, but couldn't breathe a sigh of relief until a 3-point attempt from Concordia-St. Paul's Abby Nielsen with one second to play was off the mark.
Concordia-St. Paul (22-10) was led by Amanda Behnke's 30 points and 21 rebounds. Katie LaViolette added 23.
The Golden Bears won the statistical battle, outshooting and outrebounding Kearney.
Concordia-St. Paul started the season with four straight losses. At one point, the Bears were 2-7 before rallying to win the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament. Concordia-St. Paul then opened the regional tournament with a solid win against South Dakota.
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"I thought we were a charmed team, but it looks like they might be more charmed than us with all the things that happened for them," Fessler said.
