CARSON, CA – The stage is set for the PossAbilities Shield Maidens and the WASA Bucks Women to face off in the National Championship Game at the 2018 NWBA National Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Tournament. The National Championship Game will be a rematch for the teams from a stout defensive battle seen earlier today in the semifinals, were the Shield Maidens won 47-28. The Shield Maidens entered the tournament as favorites to capture the title and they make their second straight trip to the championship game after losing in a nail bitter last year to the Dallas Lady Mavericks, 39-35. The WASA Bucks Women make their first trip to the title game since being crowned champions in 2016. The championship game will be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 25 at Veterans SportsComplex.
 

The 3rd place game will feature No. 3 Arizona Storm and No. 4 LWSRA Lady Hawks. The AZ Storm look to take home some hardware in their first ever appearance at the NWWBT. The Lady Hawks return to third place game after having taken 3rd place last year with a 37-33 victory over the Utah Rush in Arlington, Texas. The 3rd place game at 9 a.m. on Sunday will be the second showing of this matchup this tournament as the Lady Hawks beat the AZ Storm 66-42 in a Saturday matinee.
 

The 2018 NWWBT is being held from March 23-25 at Carson Park and Veterans SportsComplex in Carson, CA. Competition on day two at the 2018 NWWBT also awarded team places from 5th to 9th place. Please read below for a summary of all the action from Saturday at the 2018 NWWBT.
 

No. 1 PossAbilities Shield Maidens defeat No. 2 WASA Bucks Women, 47-28
The PossAbilities Shield Maidens had an iron curtain defense in place as they started play on day two against the WASA Bucks Women. The Shield Maidens and Bucks were committed to back picking whenever possible and pressuring key players in the backcourt not allowing the opposing team to set up their half court offense until late into the 30 second shot clock. These two offensive juggernauts held the opposing team to a tournament low for each in first half scoring that accounted for a halftime score of 20-10. The third quarter was highlighted by Courtney Ryan of Culver City California as she scored 13 of her 19 points during the third leg of play. The Bucks were able to finally break the Shield Maidens press in the fourth scoring 12 points, but their deficit was too large as the Shield Maidens advanced to the National Championship Game with a 47-28 win.

No. 3 Arizona Storm defeat No. 5 Utah Rush, 52-30
The Arizona Storm looked to fight for an opportunity to work their way back into contention for a title as they played the Utah Rush first thing Saturday morning at Veterans SportsComplex. The AZ Storm shot out on 10-0 run in the second quarter to take a controlling 21-15 lead. The success for the AZ Storm on offense blossomed in the second half with a total of 31 points and leading to a 52-30 victory over the Rush. Jennifer Ruddell of Flagstaff, Arizona led the AZ Storm with 29 points.

No. 8 ParaSport Spokane Women defeat No. 9 San Diego Black Widows, 30-15
The 7th-9th place pool play started with the ParaSport Spokane Women looking for revenge on the San Diego Black Widows from a 20-14 defeat that was the first game of the tournament. ParaSport’s drive help lead them to sizable halftime led of 24-2. The Black Widows woke up in the second half scoring 13, but still fell 30-15. ParaSport’s leading scorer was Sophie Munter of Spokane, Washington with a total of 12 points.

 
No. 4 LWSRA Lady Hawks defeat No. 7 Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Women, 60-48
The LWSRA Lady Hawks played their first game in Veterans SportsComplex of the tournament on Saturday morning against the Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Women. The astonishing shooting continued for Gail Gaeng of Chicago, Illinois with 10 points in the first quarter. Even with roughly a five-minute dry spell of scoring in the second quarter, the Lady Hawks were up on the Rollin’ Hornets 32-14 at halftime. The third quarter was highlighted by Jordan Kozloski of Warner Robins, Georgia, scoring 12 of her 25 points of the game. The Lady Hawks slowed their pace of play and continued scoring as they moved pass the Rollin’ Hornets in a 60-48 win.

No. 6 Seattle Storm defeat No. 9 San Diego Black Widows, 37-16
The second game of the 7th-9th place pool play was the Seattle Storm matching up against the San Diego Black Widows. The San Diego Black Widows were served a monumental task in playing back to back games and to make the task tougher the Widows were playing today with a five-person roster. The Seattle Storm used an efficient “Tee Cup” defense to hold the Black Widows at bay on offense. The game was controlled throughout by the Seattle Storm as they took home their first win of the day in a 37-16 contest. All of the scoring for the Black Widows was done by Rosita Lopez Pedraza of Oceanside, California and Shanayha Welsh of Oceanside, California both whom scored eight points each. The Seattle Storm received quality scoring from Talea Leslie of Wishram, Washington with 12 pionts and Jami Tribby of Renton, Washington with 13 points.

No. 4 LWSRA Lady Hawks defeat No. 3 Arizona Storm, 66-42
The LWSRA Lady Hawks faced off midday against the Arizona Storm for a consolation playback game that was the equivalent of a quarterfinal game. The AZ Storm traded baskets with the Lady Hawks in the first half to be down at half 28-27. “Team” scoring, from a total of five players, in the third quarter allowed the Lady Hawks to take a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter. Building on a led, the Lady Hawks continued to score as a team as they would go on to secure a victory 66-42.

No. 6 Seattle Storm defeat No. 8 ParaSport Spokane Women, 42-12
Having won each of their first games in pool play, this game was winner take all for 7th place between the Seattle Storm and ParaSport Spokane Women. Additionally, these two teams hail from the state of Washington and had a “East vs. West” bragging rights on the line for this game. Jami Tribby for the Seattle Storm didn’t waste any time with quality looks on offense and scoring six points in each of the first three quarters. The ParaSport Spokane Women had a tough game in finding their stroke shooting as they were defeated 42-12 by the Seattle Storm. The Seattle Storm were led by a 19-point performance from Tribby.

No. 7 Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Women defeat No. 5 Utah Rush-Women, 44-35
The fifth-place game at the 2018 NWWBT featured a new opponent of the tournament for the participating teams. The Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Women distributed the ball well in the first quarter with four players accounting for two baskets each in the first quarter to led 12-4 over the Utah Rush. The Rollin’ Hornets continue to stay at arm’s reach throughout the game eventually, solidifying a 44-35 victory to take 5th place. The Rollin’ Hornets were led on offense by Jordan Kozloski with 14 points. The Utah Rush’s top scorer was Marlee Wagstaff of Woods Cross, Utah with 10 points. The Rollin’ Hornets led by legendary NWBA player and coach Dave Kiley, were the biggest jump by a team in the initial seedings of the tournament after climbing two spots from No. 7. The Rollin’ Hornets proved to be one of the top scoring teams of the tournament averaging 44 points per game throughout the tournament.

No. 2 WASA Bucks Women defeat No. 4 LWSRA Lady Hawks, 57-51
The day ended on a high note with the best game of the tournament to date that featured two Midwest powers in the WASA Bucks Women and LWSRA Lady Hawks. The well-rested Bucks entered this game with a difficult opponent in the Lady Hawks standing in the way of a trip to the National Championship Game and a second chance at taking on the PossAbilities Shield Maidens. This game was the third game of the day for the Lady Hawks. The Bucks started strong receiving 10 points each from Becca Murray of Germantown, Wisconsin and Natalie Schneider of Ord, Nebraska in the first quarter. Cooling off in the second the Bucks still maintained a healthy led heading into half up 29-19. The Lady Hawks were received a jolt in the third quarter from amazing performances from Ixhelt Gonzalez of Chicago, Illinois with 14 points and Gail Gaeng with 10 points. Gonzalez and Gaeng work together on the right side of the basket to run a solid pick and roll game as the Bucks were hard jumping a hot shooting Gaeng. The success of the Gonzalez and Gaeng duo allowed the Lady Hawks to score on six straight offensive possessions starting at the 3:56 mark in the third quarter to taking a 43-41 into the final frame. Clutch play by Schneider and Murray in the fourth allowed the Bucks to slip past the Lady Hawks 57-51. The scoring leaders were Gaeng with 22 points for the Lady Hawks and Schneider with 30 points for the Bucks.

For score updates on the 2018 NWWBT follow the NWBA on Twitter @NWBA or https://twitter.com/NWBA. Information on the live stream feed for Sunday can be found below.
 

Venue Locations

Carson Park, 21411 Orrick Avenue, Carson, CA 90745

Veterans Sports Complex, 22400 Moneta Avenue, Carson, CA 90745
 

Live Stream

The National Championship and 3rd place games will be hosted at Veterans SportsComplex and available on live stream at: https://www.facebook.com/NWBAWomenDivision/
 

Results

San Diego Black Widows defeat ParaSport Spokane, 20-14
WASA Bucks Women defeat Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets – Women, 65-54
LWSRA Lady Hawks defeat Utah Rush – Women, 38-30
Arizona Storm defeat Seattle Storm, 43-14
Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets – Women defeat ParaSport Spokane, 44-18
PossAbilities Shield Maidens defeat San Diego Black Widows, 63-7
Utah Rush Women defeat San Diego Black Widows, 60-12
WASA Bucks defeat Arizona Storm, 72-43
PossAbilities Shield Maidens defeat WASA Bucks Women, 47-28
Arizona Storm defeat Utah Rush, 52-30
LWSRA Lady Hawks defeat Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Women, 60-48
LWSRA Lady Hawks defeat Arizona Storm, 66-42
WASA Bucks Women defeat LWSRA Lady Hawks, 57-51
 

Placement Games

7th-9th Pool Play Games
ParaSport Spokane Women defeat San Diego Black Widows, 30-15
Seattle Storm defeat San Diego Black Widows, 37-16
Seattle Storm defeat ParaSport Spokane Women, 42-12

5th Place – Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Women defeat Utah Rush-Women, 44-35

Final Team Places
5th Place – Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Women
6th Place – Utah Rush-Women
7th Place – Seattle Storm
8th Place – ParaSport Spokane Women
9th Place – San Diego Black Widows

Schedule

Sunday, March 25

9 a.m. No. 4 LWSRA Lady Hawks vs. No. 3 Arizona Storm

3rd Place Game at Veterans SportsComplex
 

11 a.m. No. 1 PossAbilities Shield Maidens vs. No. 2 WASA Bucks Women

National Championship Game at Veterans SportsComplex