SALEM, Va. – No. 8 Shenandoah University earned its first-ever trip to the ODAC Women's Basketball Tournament semi-finals with a 52-49 overtime victory over No. 1 Guilford Friday afternoon at the Salem Civic Center.

Shenandoah (14-13) earns a 6 p.m. semi-final round contest Saturday afternoon versus the winner of the No. 4 Randolph-Macon versus No. 5 Virginia Wesleyan contest.

The Hornets win over the top-seeded Quakers (20-6) is the first-ever for a No. 8 seed over a No. 1 seed in tournament history.

IN DEPTH

Trailing 41-31 with eight seconds remaining in the third, Shenandoah began its comeback with a Ragan Johnson 3-pointer as the third quarter buzzer sounded.

SU then outscored the Quakers 9-2 in the final stanza, holding GC without a bucket from the 6:12 mark on.

Freshman Sierra St. Cyr knotted the game at 43-43 on a running layup with 1:06 left. St. Cyr missed the ensuing bonus free throw, and the two teams each had one turnover before Guilford missed a 3-point attempt from the win as regulation expired.

The Quakers made the initial bucket of overtime, at 4:12, and held a four-point lead as late as 1:40 mark.

St. Cyr stepped up again, getting a steal on the Hornets defensive end and getting the ball to McKenzie Mathis, who fed Jordan Sondrol to make it 49-47 with 1:25 left.

Following a Quakers turnover, Johnson cut the deficit in half by making 1-of-2 from the line with 41 seconds left.

A Johnson blocked shot followed by a Sondrol defensive rebound gave SU the ball with the chance to take the lead.

St. Cyr did it again, getting another driving layup to put the Hornets on top 50-49.

The Hornets got another defensive stop before Sondrol iced the game with a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining.

QUOTABLE

"We started a little slow, but even when we weren't scoring, we were getting stops," head coach Melissa Smeltzer-Kraft said. "We kept them within an arms-length and eventually it turned in our favor.

"We had never beaten Guilford and had never advanced to the semi-finals, so I am so proud of the team for its resiliency and toughness.

"This means so much to break through."

UP NEXT

Shenandoah faces either No. 4 Randolph-Macon or No. 5 Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the tournament semi-finals.

GAME NOTES

• The win by the Hornets is the first-ever for a No. 8 seed over a No. 1 seed in ODAC women's tournament history
• The win is the first-ever for SU over Guilford in 10 lifetime meetings
• At 14-13, Shenandoah is guaranteed at least a .500 season for the first time in 10 years
• Shenandoah held Guilford to eight percent (1-of-12) shooting in the fourth quarter
• Guilford had a 44-28 advantage on the glass
• Johnson led the Hornets with 13 points
• Sondrol and Shannon Kuhn had 11 points each
• St. Cyr and Sondrol had five rebounds each

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