ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Hawks find themselves dancing to the Division II National Tournament after defeating Maryville with a final score of 64-60 Sunday afternoon (Mar. 9). Quincy bested the Saints with another gutsy second-half performance to win its first GLVC Championship since 2005.

The Hawks got the offense going after a defensive stop with a layup from Cymirah Williams on a great pass from Acheampomaa Danso. It took the Saints over two minutes to get on the board with a jumper in the middle of the lane. 

Quincy had the lead for the first five minutes of the game, but a 6-0 run from the Saints after three mid-range jumpers saw Maryville with an 8-6 advantage at the media timeout. Both offenses stalled for the final minutes of the first quarter, tied up at eight a piece, the Saints were scoreless for over three minutes until back-to-back threes from the left corner gave them their largest lead of the game at 14-8. QU was ice cold to end the first quarter, shooting 1 for its last 10 to end the frame, but a free throw from Mikayla Huffine ended the drought and brought the first quarter to a close, with Maryville leading 14-9.

A zone defense look from the Hawks out of the break led to a wide-open layup for the Saints to open up the second quarter, and the Hawks answered with a layup of their own on their first offensive possession. Huffine cut into the seven-point deficit by hitting the Hawks first three of the game after an 0-5 start in the first quarter.

Maryville continued to show why they were the best three-point shooting team in the GLVC, hitting threes on two straight possessions, once again to give the Saints a 24-16 lead at the seven-minute mark, but the Hawks began to find their range from deep. Threes from Nicole McDermott and Taya Stevenson got the Hawks back to within four heading into the media timeout. 

With the Hawks trailing by four and just over two minutes remaining in the half, Janiece Dawson hit the Hawks's fourth three-pointer of the quarter, but a few possessions later, the Saints answered with their fifth three of the game the unconventional way, using the glass from the right wing.

The scoring for the first half came to a close when first-team all-conference guard Gracie Stugart slipped through the lane for two points to make it 35-29 Saints at halftime. This was the third straight game in the GLVC Tournament where the Hawks found themselves trailing after twenty minutes of action.

QU started off strong in the second half for the third straight game. A second chance opportunity from Williams and a floater in the lane from McDermott got the Hawks back within two after two minutes. A minute later, Huffine hit her second three of the game to give Quincy its first lead since 5:42 in the first quarter.

The Saints snapped the scoring drought by going on a 6-0 run, four of the points belonging to redshirt freshman Adylan Ayer, who already scored 10 points off the bench in the first half on 4-5 shooting. The Hawks were down on the scoreboard 39-36 at the media timeout.

The Hawks were held to just one point for over four minutes, and a quick trigger three from the Saints with 2:43 left in the third quarter gave the Saints a 46-37 lead, their largest of the game up to that point. Huffine ended the drought with a runner down the lane off the glass. 

Trailing by seven, the Hawks went to their leaders, going down low to Danso for an easy two, and a pull-up jumper from McDermott on the baseline concluded the third quarter with the Hawks trailing 46-43.

Maryville opened up the fourth quarter with possession, and the Hawks stood tall, forcing a tough shot and swiftly making their way down the floor to score the first bucket of the fourth with another layup down low from Danso. 

QU holding a 51-50 lead early in the fourth, stuck with its bread and butter, going down low to Taylor Haase and fighting through contact for a three-point play, forcing Maryville to call a timeout up three with 6:44 left on the clock. Saints forward Faith Hawthorne stepped behind the arc to knock down a big three to make it 54-53 QU at the media timeout.

On the first possession out of the timeout, Hawthorne hit a second three-pointer to put the Saints back in front 56-54 with 4:38 left to go. Williams sank one of two free throws to get the Hawks within one, but both teams would go scoreless until Karsyn Stratton buried a pull-up jumper to give the Hawks a 57-56 lead with two minutes left. 

Quickly responding were the Saints, as second-team all-conference guard Lindsey Schadewalt answered with a mid-range jumper to regain the lead. Just 20 seconds later, the graduate guard in McDermott showed her championship DNA with a driving layup for her team-leading 16th point and a 59-58 lead.

The Saints put the ball in the freshman Schadewalt's hands looking for the lead, but a tough turnaround jumper missed long, and Williams hauled in her tenth rebound with 55 seconds remaining. Quincy walked the ball up the floor, and Coach Courtney Boyd elected to talk it over with a 30-second timeout.

Up one, the Hawks wanting to take time off the clock, led to a forced three late in the shot clock, but a massive offensive rebound from Haase kept the possession alive, forcing the Saints to foul with 28 seconds left. Haase went up strong for a putback layup but was fouled, sending her to the line for two. Haase put down the first but missed the second, only for it to find the hands of McDermott for another offensive rebound. 

The Saints were forced to foul once again, but the Hawks, yet to be in the bonus, inbounded to Huffine and sent her to the line for two free throws with a 60-58-point lead. Huffine missed the front end and made the second. 

Maryville called timeout to advance to half court, drawing up a set play looking to tie the game, but an illegal screen gave the ball back to the Hawks. Dawson went to the line after a Maryville foul, draining both free throws to extend the lead to five with eleven seconds left. A jumper from Maryville with three seconds left brought the game back to one possession, and the Hawks dished the ball into Stratton, who was fouled.

Looking to ice the game, Stratton knocked down the first free throw and missed the second free throw, but the game would come to an end in Quincy fashion as Stratton got her own miss for the team's 16th offensive rebound as the clock hit zero. 

In all three games, Quincy found themselves trailing at halftime, but for the third straight game, the Hawks powered through the second half, outscoring the Saints 35-25. GLVC Tournament MVP Nicole McDermott led the way with 16 points to go along with three rebounds and four assists. Huffine and Williams also found their way into double-figures, with Williams hauling in 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the tournament. 

Despite the Hawks shooting 4-18 in the first quarter, QU still outshot Maryville, who was limited to 34% from the field, 27% from three, and only got to the line four times. Quincy outrebounded Maryville 50-35, continuing their dominance on the glass. 

Quincy will have to wait for selection Sunday night at 9:30 PM CT to see who they will be facing in the Division II National Tournament. This will be the Hawks' 11th NCAA Tournament appearance and their first since 2016.