'Grace' Under Fire; Petrels win first-ever SCAC Championship

CONWAY, Ark. - Behind senior and Tournament MVP Tina Grace's 18-point, 10-rebound double-double, the Oglethorpe University Stormy Petrels shot an SCAC Tournament record 58.9 percent in defeating Trinity University 82-65 in the SCAC Championship game.

The win marked the Stormy Petrels first-ever SCAC women's championship. Oglethorpe received the SCAC's automatic qualifier to the 2009 NCAA Division III Tournament. It also mark's OU's fourth-straight trip the NCAA playoffs.

Grace was joined by teammates Anna Findley (27 points) and Katie Kulavic (24 points) in double-figures. Oglethorpe set the tone in the first half as the Petrels shot a blistering 63 percent from the floor (17-27) to grab a 40-33 halftime lead.

With 55 seconds remaining, Kulavic made two free throws and passed former Oglethorpe standout Russ Churchwell (1,894 points) as the SCAC's all-time leading scorer with 1,896 points.

Oglethorpe used a 22-11 run midway through the second half to push its lead to 18, at 62-44, essentially putting the game out of reach.

The Tigers were very effective during the first half. They shot 50 percent (15-30), however, they could not keep that up as Trinity shot just 34.2 percent (13-38) in the second half.

Trinity's Danielle Hubenak lead the Tigers with 19 points, eight rebounds and connected on 8-of-16 shots. Fellow Tiger Ali Marzella chippied in with 17 points while teammate Krista Prato Matthews finished with  10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

The Petrels relied on a dominant effort from its post game as Oglethorpe held a commanding 36-16 edge in points in the paint.

All-Tournament team honors went to Oglethorpe's Grace, Findley, Kulavic and Trinity's Hubenak and Prato Matthews.

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To go to the 2009 SCAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament official website, click here.