Photo courtesty of Southwest Minnesota State University. SMSU senior Bri Stoltzman takes a shot against Pittsburg State University in the NCAA Division II Central Region championship at John Lance Arena Monday evening. Stoltzman finished with a team-high 34 points in the Mustangs' 85-82 loss.

PITTSBURG, Kan. — In a game that saw six ties and came down to the wire, the No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State University womens basketball team’s Cinderella run came to an end as top-seeded Pittsburg State University rallied back in the fourth quarter, handing the Mustangs an 85-82 loss in the NCAA Division II Central Region championship at John Lance Arena Monday evening, the home campus of the Gorillas.

“At the beginning of the year, if someone said, ‘Hey, you’re going to go to the Sweet 16, you’re going to win 17 in a row, you’re going to finish in the Top-25 … You probably take those things,” SMSU head coach Tom Webb said. “It hurts right now, but at the same time, we look back and I think the journey was fun. The journey was certainly full of ups and downs, but it was a lot of fun to go 28-5 … This group will look back and know that they did some things that were pretty special.”

SMSU built up an 11-point halftime lead after shooting 6 of 12 from the 3-point line and forcing seven PSU turnovers, who didn’t make any first-half 3s and only forced three Mustang turnovers, throughout the first half.

PSU began to rally back late in the third quarter to erase a once 15-point deficit that was obtained by the Mustangs in the second quarter, and brought the game within 3 points, 68-65. Audrey Swanson was able to hit a driving layup as the quarter came to a close to give the Mustangs a 70-65 edge going into the final frame.

The game got tied up at 73 with just under five minutes to go after Grace Pyle made three straight field goals for PSU. The Gorillas limited the Mustangs to just two second half 3s.

The two teams went basket-for-basket over the next string of possessions. Tied at 77 with 2:39 to go, Bri Stoltzman sank a pair of free throws after drawing a foul.

PSU continued to chip away and took its first lead since the first half, 81-79, after Pyle and Karenna Gerber made back-to-back jumpers. Maycee James then hit a pair of free throws to make it a 4-point game with 1:23 to go, 83-79.

Peyton Blandin was found wide open for a 3-pointer at the top of the key after two PSU defenders collided with one another to make it a 1-point game with 38.5 seconds to go, 83-82.

PSU missed their next field goal but grabbed the offensive rebound, as James was fouled and put back to the line. She made both of her free throws, and the Gorillas’ defense withstood the Mustangs from getting a last-second good look, ending the Mustangs’ tournament run and season.

“When you come down here, every team is really good. You have to bring your best game, and our kids did that all three nights, no doubt about it,” Webb said. “They played really hard, and I think they represented SMSU, Marshall and everyone else really well … Just really proud.”

Swanson, Stoltzman and Natalie Nielsen all ended the game with four fouls, and SMSU committed 22 total to PSU’s 12. As a result, the Gorillas shot 24 of 29 from the free throw line at 83%, while the Mustangs went 10 of 14 from the line.

“They [PSU] played with us. The first pace, they played fast and we played fast … We got matchups where we wanted them,” Webb said. “In the second half, we just had some trouble with guarding the ball screen.”

Both Stoltzman and Swanson were named to the Central Region All-Tournament team following the game. Stoltzman finished with a team-high 34 points on 13 of 26 shooting, five assists and three steals. Swanson followed with 27 points, going 3 of 7 from the arc, and a game-high 12 rebounds with two blocks.

Blandin added another 13 points, going 3 of 5 from the perimeter, and eight rebounds.

PSU’s Gerber was named the region’s Most Outstanding Player after finishing with a game-high 34 points on 12 of 18 shooting along with 20 rebounds.

The Gorillas slightly outrebounded the Mustangs 43-39, yet the two were nearly neck-and-neck in all other areas of the game besides SMSU’s fouling trouble.

SMSU finished the night shooting 43% from the field and 38% from the 3, making eight, to PSU’s 46% shooting and went just 1 of 14 from outside. The Mustangs had 10 turnovers, and the Gorillas gave up 12.

PSU started on its comeback and cut SMSU’s lead to single digits toward the start of the third quarter, 58-49, after James and Gerber each went up for a layup, along with James hitting a free throw.

Swanson carried SMSU in the first half with 21 points, going 3 for 3 from the perimeter, and eight rebounds. Stoltzman also had a strong first half with 12 points, four assists and two steals. Gerber had the hot-hand for the Gorillas, with 22 first-half points.

The Mustangs made it to the region championship for the second time in program history while on their third appearance in the tournament, first time for both occasions since 2002, with a pair of upsets. They defeated No. 3 Fort Hays 77-65 in the region semifinals on Saturday, where they never trailed, and also eliminated two-seed Concordia-St. Paul 77-64 in the quarterfinals.

PSU, the 2025 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association [MIAA] regular and postseason champions, reached the region championship after winning the quarterfinals 87-75 over No. 8 Harding, and took out the defending National Champions Minnesota State 94-91 in Saturday’s semifinals after rallying back from another 15-point deficit.

This is the Gorillas 14th trip to the NCAA Tournament, their eighth in the last 12 seasons, and will now be embarking on their third program trip to the Elite Eight in Pittsburgh, Pa., beginning next week.

SMSU and PSU met twice before, last in the 2014-15 season with the Mustangs falling short 92-73 in Marshall, and also suffered a loss in the 2012-13 season, 97-51, in Pittsburg.

After the first half, the Mustangs shot 46% from the field and 50% from the perimeter, to PSU’s 41% shooting, 0 of 6 performance at the arc and three forced turnovers. SMSU led at halftime 49-38.

SMSU finishes its season 28-5 overall, a significant improvement from its 19-12 record last year. The program graduates seniors Stoltzman, Kenzie Jones and Blandin.

Stoltzman led the team this season with an average 22 points a game, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals. Blandin led with 2.3 makes and shooting 35% from the arc a game, and Jones averaged 5.7 points as well.

“They’ve been amazing. They’re great humans, and great players,” Webb said. “They’re going to be missed, and they’ve really done a good job of continuing to grow the program.”