FULTON, MO – For the first time in school history, a Principia College basketball team has won the SLIAC championship! The 2024-25 Panthers women's basketball team became the first #4 seed to win the SLIAC WBB tournament on Saturday as they came back to beat #2 seed Webster University on the final play of the game to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
The championship game was hosted by #1 seed Westminster College, who the Panthers defeated in the semifinals on Thursday. Fans from both schools packed the historic gym which was about to witness even more history. The game began with an early bucket by both teams, and continued to be back-and-forth throughout the first quarter with Webster leading 17-14 by the end of the period. The Gorloks would extend their lead to 11 with a minute to go in the second, but a big three-pointer by
Taylor Brown (3-3 from deep on Saturday) sent the game to halftime with Webster up 31-23.
A quick three put the Gorloks back up 11 to start the second half, but that would be the most Webster would lead by the rest of the way. Principia continued their trend of being a strong second half team and playing their best when it matters most. The Panthers began a steady comeback over the course of the third quarter, and another clutch three-pointer in the final minute, this time by
Hannah Myers, cut the Gorlok lead to just one at 45-44 heading into the fourth.
Webster would outplay the Panthers for the first half of the final quarter building their lead back to nine with 5:38 to go. After a Gorloks three with four minutes left put them up eight, Principia would go on a huge 8-0 run over the next 90 seconds to tie the game at 60-60 thanks to threes by Brown and Myers and a bucket by
Trinniti Matthews. Matthews then hit a massive lay up while being fouled with 2:13 remaining to give the Panthers their first lead since the opening quarter as the Principia fans and bench went wild.
The Panthers' three point lead didn't last long as Webster quickly responded with an "and-one" of their own to tie things back up. The Gorloks then made some big defensive stops and free throws to earn a 67-65 advantage with 24 seconds to play. After having strong performances, both of Principia's SLIAC All-Defensive team honorees,
Lamiya Terrell and
Ariana Williams, fouled out in the final minutes which left the Panthers without two key players to close the game.
What happened over the final 24 seconds will forever be remembered in Principia history, and the full video can be
watched here. After a missed Principia three-pointer,
Trinniti Matthews got the offensive rebound in a scramble on the floor and pushed it back out to
Genesis Santiago who hit a clutch, deep two to tie the game with 13 seconds left.
Matthews then defended the ensuing Gorloks lay up attempt without fouling, which resulted in a missed shot.
Carolina Rojas secured the rebound and heaved a long pass up the court to
Hannah Myers who collected the ball, sprinted to the basket and made a contested lay up right before the buzzer sounded to win the championship for Principia.
The bench (and a few Panthers fans) rushed the court, mobbing Myers and celebrating the program's first win over Webster in ten years. Principia had defied the odds and run the table through three SLIAC powerhouse programs in Greenville, Westminster, and Webster in five days to claim their first ever SLIAC title.
"That last play was a collective example of ten seconds that have defined the way this team has sought to play the entire season," said head coach
Ramiro Dominguez after the game. "The women instantly applied full court pressure seamlessly and communicated that to each other. Trinniti, who has been playing with an injured shoulder, defends the layup attempt perfectly. Our senior captain Lina, who has been dealing with multiple injured fingers in the second half of the season, secures the rebound, and with her brilliant basketball IQ immediately looks to push the ball up the court as far as she can. And Hannah, who hurt her wrist on campus on Thursday, sprints down the floor and attacks the rim for the buzzer-beating lay up. Just a great illustration of how this team has sacrificed for each other, trusted each other, and loved each other. I am so happy for this group – they deserve all of this experience."
Trinniti Matthews was named Tournament MVP after another huge game as she finished with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds in the finals.
Taylor Brown (14 points) and
Hannah Myers (11 points) each scored double-digits in the game as well.
Ariana Williams and
Lamiya Terrell were named to the All-Tournament team along with Matthews thanks to their brilliant play throughout the week. Terrell also made history on Saturday by setting the program record for steals in a season with 98 and counting – an amazing accomplishment for the junior transfer in her first season at Principia.
The Panthers will now move on the NCAA Tournament beginning on Friday, March 7th. The bracket was announced on Monday, and the Panthers will be heading north to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to face the WIAC champion Warhawks at 7:00 pm on Friday. The game can be live streamed on
ncaa.com. Tickets to attend in person will be $15 for adults and $10 for students and children (ages 5 and under get in free). Let's go Panthers!
