The D-II semifinals are set.

In yesterday's Elite Eight games, the Seawolves were taken to overtime by Franklin Pierce, but Alaska-Anchorage survived with a 71 -65 victory.

UA-A used its height to great advantage pulling down 50 rebounds, including 26 offensive, and got double doubles from center Rebecca Kieplinski and guard Kalhie Quinones. Quinones, who scored 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds to help UAA to a 50-36 rebounding advantage. The senior from Loveland, Colo., snagged nine offensive rebounds, equaling the entire Franklin Pierce team total.

“Rebounding is really a key stat for us and there is a toughness there that we are going to take pride in,” said UAA head coach Tim Moser. “We understand that being from Alaska that we travel more than anyone else and we have to be tougher than everyone else.”

Franklin Pierce sophomore, and DII Player of the Year, Johannah Leedham finished with 31 points, going 8 of 20 from the field and 14 of 15 at the line. She also pulled down 18 of the Ravens’ 36 rebounds.

“She is the player of the year in the country for a reason. Particularly in the playoff games, if we need somebody to step up, Jo is the one that can step up. She is really a special person with her talents on the court and off the court in the classroom,” said Franklin Pierce head coach Mark Swasey.

Northern Kentucky overwhelmed Wingate 78-65. Northern Kentucky shot 51.7 as three players reached double figures for the Norse.

“I thought we came out a little flat, but I think Wingate might have also. We started to get some momentum and took the lead, but they came back and played well, but Rachel Lantry really stepped up to hit a couple of big threes,” said NKU head coach Nancy Winstel.

Delta State stayed perfect and defeated a stubborn California (Pa.) team, 75-64. The top-ranked Lady Statesmen had three starters score in double figures and used two second half runs to seal the victory.

“They just kept coming at us and coming at us. We didn’t have an answer for 11 (Williams), but we knew going into the ballgame that they were a great rebounding team and they were never going to let up,” said Delta head coach Sandra Rushing. “We beat a very good basketball team tonight. They are very well coach and we are very, very fortunate to come out with a win.”

"The last national quarter final game of the day proved to be one of the best," writes Peter Yazvac, the Media Relations Director of the U of Nebraska-Kearney, who's been very busy providing coverage of the tournament.

The University of South Dakota Coyotes won a double-overtime thriller against the Washburn University Lady Blues, 85-80. In a game that featured 15 ties and eight lead changes, free throws proved to be the difference down the stretch as the Coyotes made six free shots in the second overtime and finished the game 22-of-30 from the line.

But it was the long range shooting of the squads that was the one of the most impressive stats of the game. The teams combined for 19 made triples, 12 at the hands of the Lady Blues. For Washburn, Corkey Stiger made a game-tying 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in regulation, and Jessica Mainz made a game-tying trey with 32 seconds left in the first overtime.

"We got down, we got up, we got down ... we always seemed to be coming from behind," Washburn coach Ron McHenry said. "I don't know if we ran out of gas, but it was a tough battle."Both teams made big plays. They made a couple more plays, and that's why they won in double overtime."

Said USD head coach Chad Lavin, who keeps trying to start his retirement, but his team won't let him:

“In my 30 years of men’s and women’s basketball and I have never been in a game like that. It was absolutely incredible. It was two teams that didn’t want to lose," said USD head coach Chad Lavin. "I’ve always said to our team that if we lose, they will have to take it from us and I would have felt that they took it from us tonight instead of them giving it to them. Those shots they hit down the stretch were incredible.”

The semi-finals games, scheduled for Thursday, March 27, are as follows:

7 p.m. (CDT) - Alaska-Anchorage v. Northern Kentucky
9:30 p.m. - Delta State v. South Dakota

The games will be broadcast on ESPNU. The championship game will be Saturday, March 29th, 5pm (CDT), can be seen on ESPN2.