HOLLAND, Mich. - No. 24 Wartburg women's basketball defeated the defending national champion No. 6/7 Hope College 81-67 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, Mar. 3. The Knights advance to the sweet 16 for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
 

.@WartburgWBBALL is STILL DANCING!!!! 💃💃

Knights advance to the Sweet Sixteen after knocking off the defending National Champions.#d3hoops pic.twitter.com/IFjlKKAdYB

— Wartburg Athletics (@WartburgKnights) March 5, 2023

 
Game Summary

• First Quarter
  • The Knights struck first with a Britney Young three pointer just under a minute into the game
  • A minute later Hope tied it up with a three pointer of its own before Jaedon Murphy and Macy Harris each converted on layups to make the score 7-3
  • Hope took its first lead after seven straight points to take a 10-7 lead with 4:59 left in the first
  • Neither team scored for the next almost three minutes until the Knights scored the next eight points to storm back in front 15-12 to close the first quarter
    • Lauren Woeste scored the first layup and then it was Taylor Runchey and Maggie Wilkins who made three pointers
• Second Quarter
  • The Knights opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 22-12 lead
    • Murphy scored a layup, Woeste went 2/2 at the free throw line and Sara Faber connected on a triple
  • Young made two and Faber made one three to put Wartburg up 31-16 with 6:35 left in the half
  • Murphy stretched the lead with another three for Wartburg and then a Harris layup gave Wartburg a 36-21 lead
  • Faber scored five points in the final two minutes of the half and the Knights led 41-25 at the break
• Third Quarter
  • Young started the third with another made three and Hope answered with a three of their own again
  • Murphy made her second three and then Faber made a layup after a Hope layup to keep the Knights in front 49-30 with 5:46 left in the third
  • Ella McKinney scored the next eight points to make the score 49-38 with 3:35 left in the quarter
  • Young made another three to stop the run, but Hope continued to chip away at the lead
  • Hope closed on a 13-6 run that made the score 58-51 Wartburg after three quarters
• Fourth Quarter
  • Woeste started the fourth with a layup and then each team made a three pointer to make the score 63-54 after a minute of play
  • Harris scored on a floater and then Murphy knocked in another three to make the score 68-56 with eight minutes left
  • It was almost three minutes before the next basket, where Hope scored a layup to cut the lead to 68-58 with 4:47 to play
  • The Knights scored the next six points after free throws from Murphy, a layup from Faber and a jumper from Wilkins to make the score 74-58 with 3:18 to play
  • Hope cut the lead to 12 with a three pointer with two minutes remaining
  • The Knights held off Hope with free throws to secure an 81-67 win

 
Top Performers

• Young
  • 15 points
    • 5/9 FG
    • 5/9 3P
  • Five rebounds
  • Two assists
  • One steal
• Murphy
  • 15 points
    • 5/9 FG
    • 3/6 3P
    • 2/2 FT
  • Four rebounds
  • Three assists
  • One block
  • One steal
• Faber
  • 16 points
    • 6/11 FG
    • 3/4 3P
    • 1/4 FT
  • Four rebounds
  • Four assists
  • Four steals

 
Notes/Streaks

• This was the second all-time matchup between these programs
  • Wartburg 2-0; both NCAA Tournament games
• Five Knights scored 10+ points:
  • Faber: 16
  • Murphy 15
  • Young: 15
  • Wilkins: 14
  • Harris: 12
• Murphy is six points from 1,000 career points
• Young set the single season record for three pointers with five three's today
  • Now at 84 three pointers this season
• Wartburg shooting percentages:
  • 53.8% FG
  • 58.3% 3P
  • 61.1% FT
• 23-15 all-time in NCAA Tournament
  • 14-6 under Bob Amsberry
• First round of 16 appearance since 2018-19 season
  • Fourth all-time under Amsberry

Post game press conference