UAFS sophomore guard Sydney Franklin calmly sank a pair of free throws with one second left to finally crush a late rally by Colorado Mesa and seal a hard-fought 68-65 win on Friday night during first round play in the South Central Region of the NCAA Division II  National Tournament.

No. 4 seed UAFS (21-8) will play No. 1 seed West Texas A&M (28-2) at 7:30 p.m. in the region semifinals on Saturday at the First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas. West Texas A&M, which finished as national runner-up last season, beat No. 8 Cameron 80-61 in Friday's first round game.

The game will be broadcast on KHGG-FM 103.1. Live statistics and webcast will be availabe at South Central Tournament Central.

It will be the third meeting between the two teams in as many seasons. The Lady Buffs beat the Lady Lions 73-57 in the second game of the 2012 Lady Buffs Christmas Classic and beat the Lady Lions 85-70 in the second game of the 2013 Lady Lions Classic at the Stubblefield Center.

UAFS led 39-30 at halftime and twice pushed its lead to 11 points in the second half – the last time (48-37) coming on a jumper by junior guard Desiree Loving with 13:38 left to play. Colorado Mesa rallied to tie the game at 64 points on a pair of free throws by senior guard Shanna Halilalo.

The No. 4 Mavericks, who led only twice in the game, never led in the second half. Senior post Angi Ramey gave the Lady Lions the lead back (66-64) for good on a layup with 20 seconds left.

Colorado Mesa had an opportunity to tie the game with four seconds left. Sophomore guard Erin Reichle was fouled by
UAFS junior guard Brittany Holbert and made the first shot of the two-shot free-throw attempt.

Reichle missed the second free throw, and junior forward Jasmine Brainard grabbed the rebound for UAFS. Brainard pass the ball to Franklin, who was fouled with one second left. Franklin, who was 3-for-4 shooting at the free-throw line prior to her final two attempts, made both with ease to cap the win.

UAFS shot 42 percent from the field (22 for 53) – it was 4-for-13 shooting from 3-point range – and shot 65 percent from the free-throw line (20 for 31). Franklin led UAFS with 12 points, while junior guard Skai Thompson had 11 points and Ramey had 10 points.

Ramey topped off her double-double with 10 rebounds, but UAFS was still out-rebounded by 41-39 by Colorado Mesa.

It was a game of contrasting styles of play. The Mavericks (23-6) played a slow, deliberate style, while the Lady Lions played their famous up-tempo, attacking style of play.

The Lady Lions' harassing, full-court pressure defense proved to be too much for the Mavericks to handle. UAFS forced 21 turnovers that led to 26 points. Franklin and junior guard Candice Followwell each had three steals apiece for UAFS, which had 14 steals total.

UAFS held Colorado Mesa to 35-percent shooting from the field (22 for 63) – it was 10-for-25 shooting from 3-point range. The Mavericks shot 85 percent from the free-throw line (11 for 13).

Reichle led the Mavericks with 14 points, while junior forward Ashley Stevens had 11 points off the bench. Senior forward Leanndra Gilbert and junior forward Siu Lo'amanu led Colorado Mesa with seven rebounds.
  
NCAA DIVISION II NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
NO. 5 UAFS 68, NO. 4 COLORADO MESA 65
UAFS                          39        29        --         68
COLORADO MESA    30        35        --         65
UAFS (21-8): Franklin 12, Thompson 11, Ramey 10, Followwell 9, Brainard 7, Bean 6, Loving 5, Holbert 4, N'Goran 2
Colorado-Mesa (23-6): Reichle 14, Stevens 11, Halalilo 9, Lo'Amanu 8, Gilbert 8, Rivera 6, Kasel 5, Musante 4.