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WASA Bucks Win the 2018 NWBA Women’s National Championship

By NWBA, 03/25/18, 8:45PM CDT

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Bucks capture title in 56-55 OT thriller

CARSON, CA – The WASA Bucks Women have won the 2018 NWBA Women’s National Championship after pulling out a thrilling overtime victory over the PossAbilities Shield Maidens, 56-55. The title is the second national championship for the WASA Bucks Women having won the tournament in 2016. The game was a rematch from the semifinals that the Shield Maidens won 47-28. The Shield Maidens finish in 2nd place in the Women’s Division for the straight year in a row. The Bucks were led to victory by two U.S. Paralympic gold medalists in Becca Murray of Germantown, Wisconsin and Natalie Schneider of Ord, Nebraska. Schneider was honored for her efforts and 21 points during the game as she was award the MVP of the championship game.
 

The third-place game feature the No. 3 Arizona Storm and the No. 4 LWSRA Lady Hawks. The Lady Hawks received an amazing shooting performance from Zoe Voris of Fairborn, Ohio as she shot 66% and scored 18 points. Voris was a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team that was awarded the silver medal at the 2017 IWBF America’s Cup in Cali, Columbia. The Lady Hawks were able to repeat as the 3rd place team of the Women’s Division having taken third place last year with a 37-33 victory over the Utah Rush.


National Championship Game
No. 2 WASA Bucks Women defeat No. 1 PossAbilities Shield Maidens, 56-55 OT

The saying “saving the best for last” was relevant on Sunday as those in attendance were treated to a thrilling national championship game between the WASA Bucks Women and PossAbilities Shield Maidens. March Madness was on display as this game was knotted in a tie a total of nine times during the game.

The game started slow with both teams feeling each other out, as the Shield Maidens didn’t make their first basket until six minutes into play. In the first quarter the Bucks tallied a 40% field goal percentage and the Shield Maidens followed with a 30% field goal percentage.

Both teams jumped out to a strong second quarter with points coming fast and plentiful as each team scored a quarter high in points for the tournament with 15 for the Bucks and 20 for the Shield Maidens. Closing out the half with four straight points, Courtney Ryan of Culver City, California shot 50% field goal percentage and 12 points for the half. The Shield Maidens held their largest lead of the game at half being up, 30-25 on the Bucks.

The Bucks came out at half with a new approach to the pressure from the Shield Madiens as they worked to move the ball up the court. The Bucks’ offensive adjustment slowed their offensive possessions and increased their offensive efficiency as the Bucks shot over 70% in the third quarter. The chess match continued as the team entered the fourth quarter locked at 40-40.

The fourth quarter had the teams trading baskets until both teams had a shot to take the lead with less than a minute to go, but with no avail the game headed to overtime tied at 50-50. The scoring leader in regulation and key contributor for the Bucks was Elizabeth Guerin of Cuba City, Wisconsin with 18 points.

Using her championship experience, Schneider scored two quick baskets in the first minute of overtime. The Shield Maidens had a look in the final seconds, but the Bucks were able to escape to be crowned the 2018 NWBA Women’s National Champions with a 56-55 victory.
 

3rd Place Game Recap
No. 4 LWSRA Lady Hawks defeat No. 3 Arizona Storm, 66-42
The third place game featured two teams looking to avoid their third loss of this tournament and take home some hardware as the third place team at the 2018 NWWBT. The game was a rematch from a 66-42 victory for the LWSRA Lady Hawks on Saturday.

The LWSRA Lady Hawks used their speed and athleticism to attack the Arizona Storm on defense in the first quarter of the game, taking a led 12-4. Voris scored half of the team points for the Lady Hawks in the first quarter.

The depth of the roster for the Lady Hawks allowed them to sustain continuous pressure into the second quarter taking a firm 30-10 lead into halftime. Discipline play by the Lady Hawks was evident as they only recorded one foul in the first half.

The champion pedigree from two-time gold medalist Jennifer Ruddell of Flagstaff, Arizona was apparent as she pushed her squad to fight back into the game in the third. Ruddell accounted for 10 of the 20 points the AZ Storm scored in the third. However, the Lady Hawks still held a lead of 40-30 after three quarters of play.

The fourth quarter started with a 6-0 run in the first two minutes from the Lady Hawks. Ruddell kept shooting, but the Lady Hawks roster depth proved to be too much of advantage as the tired arms from the full court press in the first half was now paying dividends for the Hawks. Outside of Voris, the Lady Hawks received scoring from Chicago, Illinois natives in Ixhelt Gonzalez with 12 points and Gail Gaeng with 10 points. The Lady Hawks rolled to third place with a 56-42 win over the AZ Storm.

 

Tournament Overview

The 2018 NWBA National Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Tournament marked the 40th anniversary of women competing within the NWBA. The tournament was also highlighted by being the largest women's tournament hosted to date with nine teams in attendance. 

The NWBA Women’s Division has seen unprecedent growth this past year as the number of registered athletes has grown from 69 to 127. For the 2017-18 season the Women’s Division included 12 teams, welcoming three new teams to the division in the Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Women, San Diego Black Widows and the Arizona Storm.

 

The NWBA appreciates the support provided by Loma Linda University Health, Team PossAbilities and the PossAbilities Shield Maidens for organizing the 2018 NWWBT. Thank you to the City of Carson for hosting this event and welcoming NWBA members to their community. Thank you to ABC Medical and T-Mobile as NWBA sponsors and partners that were present for the event. A special thank you to all the volunteers, City of Carson staff, officials and others that contributed to the success of the event this weekend.

Visit the NWBA social media accounts to view moments captured this weekend at the 2018 NWWBT on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The live stream for the 2018 NWBA Women’s National Championship Game can be watched by clicking here.
 

Preliminary Games

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

National Championship
WASA Bucks Women defeat PossAbilities Shield Maidens, 56-55 OT

3rd Place
LWSRA Lady Hawks defeat Arizona Storm, 56-42

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

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


Final Team Places
1st Place – WASA Bucks Women
2nd Place – PossAbilities Shield Maidens
3rd Place – LWSRA Lady Hawks
4th Place – Arizona Storm
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

 

Awards

Championship Game MVP: Natalie Schneider – WASA Bucks Women

Tournament MVP: Gail Ganeg – LWSRA Lady Hawks

Sportsmanship Award: Carrie Clark – Arizona Storm

Most Improved: Ali Ibanez – Utah Rush

1st Team All-Tournament                 

Courtney Ryan – PossAbilities Shield Maidens          

Becca Murray – WASA Bucks Women

Natalie Schenider – WASA Bucks Women     

Jenn Ruddle – Arizona Storm 

Lydia Sprain – WASA Bucks Women              

2nd Team All-Tournament                

Jenn Poist – Arizona Storm                

Patty Ciseneros – Shield Maidens     

Jordan Kozloski – Charlotte Rollin' Hornets Women

Zoe Voris – LWSRA Lady Hawks         

Carlie Cook – LWSRA Lady Hawks