Courtesy/Andy Visockis

Cornerstone held on to an early lead despite a furious run by Davenport late in the game Monday, winning the WHAC Tournament Championship 73-69, and earning an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.

With 41.6 seconds remaining, Jenna Plewes muscled in a baseline layup over a swarm of Davenport defenders for the game-winning basket. 

“Kara just found me [by the hoop],” Plewes said. “I’m like, ‘I’m going to go up strong with this and see what happens. I’m not going to let our team lose right here.’ I got kind of emotional at the end.”

The Golden Eagles closed the game with a 10-2 run during the last four minutes to pull out the win, led by senior captains Kara Overbeek and Plewes, who scored Cornerstone’s last 10 points.

“In the second half the seniors really pulled it through,” head coach Carla Fles said. “We just had to dig in on defense and pull it out.”

Cornerstone jumped out to an early 13-point lead at one point in the first half and led 41-30 at halftime.

 “The last time we played them here we were down 26-6 [in the first half],” Riemersma said. “It’s hard to come back and win games like that when you’ve expended so much energy just to get back into the game, and we didn’t want to let that happen. I felt like the girls were more focused, and it showed early on.”

Cornerstone kept fighting after Davenport took several seemingly decisive leads in the second half, including a 67-63 lead with 4:17 to play.

“We felt if we were in a close game with them, we were going to win because of the experience that we’ve had in those types of games,” Riemersma said.

“There was no panic, and it was just one possession at a time,” he said. “I felt that was very important for us. I think that we have learned to become a team that does not panic, and that is something special.”

Kara Overbeek kept her composure down the stretch to lead Cornerstone.

“Every time they made it, I wouldn’t let myself get frazzled,” she said.

This season, No. 7 Cornerstone has a 2-1 record against divisional-rival Davenport, which is the No. 4 team in NAIA Division II.

“It’s just the excitement of the game,” Overbeek said. “Beating Davenport is always a big game. I just knew it was my last chance, so I was going to give it all I had. I’m glad we won.”

Cornerstone is the only team to beat Davenport this season, both wins coming at Davenport.

“Our team is kind of different,” Riemersma said. “It’s kind of funny. We almost play better on the road. They have a sense of urgency more when they’re on the road. It’s an interesting dynamic to have. But one that can be very beneficial come tournament time.”

Men: Lose to Aquinas 59-48

After starting strong, the Cornerstone men’s basketball team could not quite pull off an upset, falling 59-48 to Aquinas in the WHAC Tournament Championship on Tuesday.

Kim Elders has coached Cornerstone (21-12) to 11 consecutive conference tournament championship games, including last year when the Golden Eagles upset Aquinas in the semi-finals to squeeze in. But despite that success, the team lost in the championship game for the second straight season, which will also extend its unprecedented national tournament drought to two years.

“We got there, but had to play at Indiana Tech and at Aquinas,” Elders said. “Those are two tall orders. Those teams are good. We got there, but we got to find a way to turn this thing around and get back to Branson, (Mo., where the national tournament is held). We got to win on the road.”

The Golden Eagles took an early 14-8 lead before Aquinas stepped up and never looked back using a superb defensive performance to limit Cornerstone offensively.

“We only scored 48 points,” assistant coach Lance Roark said. “I don’t remember the last time, if ever, we scored that low.”

“They played good defense,” head coach Kim Elders added. “We stopped scoring. That was our biggest problem. It was more of an offensive problem.”

Elders said his team’s defensive performance was one bright spot, but ultimately Cornerstone let too many rebounds slip away down the stretch.

He felt the season was a mild success.

“We let a few games get away from us,” Elders said. “All in all, it was a good season, but I felt it could have gone a little bit better.”