BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Re’Shawna Stone scored 25 points, Zakiyah Winfield added 23 and Glenville State beat Western Washington 85-72 on Friday night to capture the Division II women’s championship.
It was the first championship — in any sport — for Glenville State, which is located in West Virginia.
Glenville State, which entered leading the nation in scoring at 96.3 points per game, broke a tournament record from 2004 by scoring 524 combined points in six games.
Prairie High grad Brooke Walling scored a career-high 27 points, on 12-of-16 shooting, and grabbed 12 rebounds for Western Washington (25-6). Emma Duff added 17 points and Katrina Gimmaka 12.
Western Washington turned it over 10 times in the first half, but shot 63.3% from the field and used an 11-0 run to build a 46-44 lead at the break. Walling scored 17 points, only missing one shot, and Duff added 11 points. Winfield had 15 points in the first half and Stone had 13.
Glenville State only led 67-62 entering the fourth after Winfield beat the third-quarter buzzer on a jumper from the free-throw line. The Lady Pioneers made four straight shots in the fourth quarter to take a 78-68 lead with 6:04 remaining and led by double figures the rest of the way.
Stone was named the tournament MVP after going 11 of 16 from the floor against the taller Western Washington team.
“We always say ‘heart over height’ because we’re really small, and I think we definitely showed that tonight,” the 5-foot-6 Stone said.
Dazha Congleton added 11 points and nine rebounds for Glenville State (35-1), which was in its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Lady Pioneers forced 25 turnovers, and held Western Washington to 2-of-14 shooting from behind the arc.
