Sandburg Women Stymie Stormers, Advance to Region 4 Championship

ROCKFORD — The Carl Sandburg College women's basketball team is one win away from the national tournament.

The Chargers advanced to the championship game of the Region 4 Division II District A tournament after rebounding from a double-digit deficit in the second quarter to beat Milwaukee Area Technical 75-67 in the semifinals Saturday at Rock Valley College.

The fourth-seeded Chargers (23-9) will face top-seeded Morton (29-3) in the finals at 5 p.m. March 9 at Rock Valley with a spot in the NJCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship on the line. A live stream of the game can be viewed here.

It marks the first time since 2017 the Chargers will play for the region title. Sandburg has seven region championships in program history, with the most recent coming in 2008.

Sandburg spotted fifth-seeded Milwaukee Tech (18-10) a 30-20 lead after the opening quarter, but the Chargers held the Stormers to just 37 points in the final three periods.

The turning point came in the closing minutes of the first half and the opening minutes of the second. Trailing 41-31, the Chargers scored six straight points to end the second quarter. Sandburg then tallied the first seven points of the third for a 13-0 run that bookended halftime and gave the Chargers a 44-41 advantage.

Sandburg outscored Milwaukee Tech 18-11 in the third for a 55-52 lead, then put the Stormers away with a 20-15 advantage in the fourth.

The Chargers won with a balanced attack, as eight players got into the scoring column and four reached double figures. Freshman Capre Ferguson led the way for Sandburg, scoring 15 points off the bench. Ferguson scored 13 points in the second half, including 11 of Sandburg's 18 third-quarter points.

Sophomore guard Kelci Shelton totaled 14 points, and freshman forward Brook Pieper finished with 12. Elly Bentley, who tied her career-high with 32 points in the quarterfinals against Olive-Harvey, added 10 for the Chargers.

Sophia Valero led four Milwaukee Tech players in double figures with a game-high 18 points.

REGION 4 DIVISION II DISTRICT A WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals
Feb. 29
Game 1 — No. 1 Morton 95, No. 16 Elgin 54
Game 2 — No. 8 Prairie State 82, No. 9 Moraine Valley 69
Game 3 — No. 5 Milwaukee Area Technical 67, No. 12 DuPage 52
Game 4 — No. 4 Sandburg 91, No. 13 Olive-Harvey 71
Semifinals
March 2 at Rock Valley
Game 5 — No. 1 Morton 99, No. 8 Prairie State 63
Game 6 — No. 4 Sandburg 75, No. 5 Milwaukee Area Technical 67
Championship
March 9 at Rock Valley
No. 1 Morton vs. No. 4 Sandburg, 5 p.m. 

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