They are the champions! Lady Jays capture NCJAA hoops title

For the second time in three years, the Minnesota West Jays basketball team is a national champion.

The Lady Jays overcame a rough fourth quarter during which they scored just eight points but were boosted by a strong defensive effort throughout the game as they downed divisional rival Anoka-Ramsey 51-41 Saturday afternoon in Brownwood, Texas.  Minnesota West turned the ball over 27 times but limited the Golden Rams to just 23% shooting on the day and won for the third time in as many games against A-R this winter.

Freshman Payton Riemers carried the offense for the Lady Jays, scoring 24 points in the game. Katrina Schutz had 11 points and dominated on the boards with 20 rebounds.

Minnesota West led 16-7 after the first quarter of play and took its largest advantage of the first half at 22-9 on a Jayda Hellewell layup with 6:15 left before halftime. The Lady Jays would only wind up scoring four points the rest of the quarter, but the Golden Rams tallied just five of their own and it was 26-14 at the break.

A-R trimmed the gap to 29-24 with just over four minutes gone by in the third quarter, but Izzy Klumper nailed a 3-pointer, Riemers added a layup and free throw and Katelyn Frodermann connected on a jump shot for an 8-0 surge and 37-24 score. Two Riemers free throws later made it 41-27 with 2:03 to go in the third, and Minnesota West kept a 14-point edge at 43-29 entering the final stanza.

That fourth quarter likely felt like the longest 10 minutes of the Lady Jays' lives. They only scored four points over the course of the first 7:53 and had just one field goal — a Riemers layup — the entire period. Yet, it was enough, as Minnesota West's "D" held A-R at bay.

Minnesota West, which was in the national tournament for the fifth year in a row, completed its season with a 26-5 season. It entered the tourney with a No. 1 ranking and the top seed — and finished at the top, too.