Reinhardt Bounced by Union (Ky.) in Conference Semis

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

Photo Courtesy of Greg Spell/G-RoxPhotos.com

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – The wild and crazy play in the women's Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship continued on Friday night as third-seeded Union (Ky.) upended No. 22 Reinhardt, 81-75, to advance to tomorrow afternoon's final game in the tournament inside the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center in Tennessee.

The Eagles (26-3) were looking for their first postseason AAC crown in their inaugural year under head coach Toby Wagoner, but they will have to wait another season and now shift their focus to the 29^th Annual Division II Women's Basketball National Championship on March 11-17 inside the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

It just wasn't the hometown team's night against the Bulldogs – who now have beaten Reinhardt twice during 2019-20 – as a 6-0 hole to start the conference battle quickly turned into a double-digit deficit, including a game-high 20 points at the end of one quarter (29-9).

The momentum would begin to swing in the favor of the Eagles in the second period, as they played sounder defense and began to hit some shots. The spark that could have started the turnaround was a technical foul late in the opening period by Wagoner.

His group would respond in a big way with a 18-7 run in the second period to get within nine, and it could have been closer as a 3-pointer by Bethany Headrick went wide of the mark with just seconds left on the clock before intermission.

Union would push its advantage back to double figures early in the third stanza, but in a matter of just over five minutes, the hometown team made it all the way back and tied the score – for the first and only occasion – as Ashton Sutton started to heat up from beyond the arc.

A pair of free throws shortly followed that could've given the Eagles their first lead of the night, but neither went through the hoop, and the Bulldogs took advantage with a 3-pointer on the next possession as the momentum clearly swung back in favor of Union.

The No. 3 seed would go on an 11-2 run in short order and hold on for an eight-point advantage heading to the fourth quarter at 58-50.

Reinhardt would continue to show fight and hard-nosed effort throughout the remainder of the game, even when the outcome seemed bleak after another double-digit hole early in the final period. The Eagles would battle back to a two-possession game on a couple of occasions, but could never fully recover.

The last gasp came with 1:08 left on the clock when Brittany Burnett stole the in-bounds pass and won a jump-ball for Reinhardt. The Eagles, however, threw the ball away just seconds later on a backcourt violation and paid the price.

Union would go down and score right away to put the contest to rest.

Catherine Shope had 21 points off the bench with three rebounds and three assists. Three additional players – all starters – were in double figures with Bethany Headrick (17 points and 10 rebounds), Sutton (17 points and four steals) and Amberlee Zeller (10 points and nine boards).

As a team, Reinhardt shot 24-for-63 (38.1 percent) and made 18-of-29 free throws. 

Tune in next Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. EDT for the live National Championship bracket reveal on Facebook, here.

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For more information on Reinhardt Women's Basketball, please click here.