SIOUX CITY, Iowa - (Box Score) Shawnee State (Ohio) saw a 12-point halftime lead dwindle to one with less than six minutes remaining, but the Bears fought off Aquinas (Mich.) down the final stretch to earn a spot in the quarterfinals with a 72-66 win at the 19th Annual State Farm-NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena on Friday.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - (Box Score) Shawnee State (Ohio) saw a 12-point halftime lead dwindle to one with less than six minutes remaining, but the Bears fought off Aquinas (Mich.) down the final stretch to earn a spot in the quarterfinals with a 72-66 win at the 19th Annual State Farm-NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena on Friday.

Shawnee State will make its fifth appearance in the quarterfinals, with the last coming in 2001. The Bears are 2-2 in four previous quarterfinal games. Head coach Robin Hagen-Smith's squad will take its 27-6 record against the winner of the Hastings (Neb.)/Grand View (Iowa) matchup on Saturday at 1 p.m. Aquinas' ends its season with a record of 21-12.

The Bears easily took a 43-31 into the break behind 42.9 percent shooting and converted 10-of-13 free-throw attempts. Mallory Albers was red hot, scoring all of her 21 points in the opening 20 minutes. Aquinas struggled to find its groove, connecting on only nine field goals, but was able to pick up 10 points via the charity stripe. Senior Joslyn Narber put her team on her back by pouring in 19 points.

Coming out of the break, Shawnee State continued to hold on to a double-digit lead. The Saints were able to get within nine points and then at 6:54 Narber's work down low came up big. After a missed shot, Narber snagged the offensive board and powered back up for the bucket to bring the Saints within one. Abby Ballman's 3-pointer on the other end a minute later pushed Shawnee State back up by four to shut the door on Aquinas for the final 5:54.

Two Bears finished in double figures, led by Jill Cropper's 22 points, including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. All of Mallory Albers' 21 points came in the first half as she was 7-of-21, including three triples. She was also flawless from the charity stripe in four attempts. Catrice Mitchell and Ballman teamed together for 24 of the Bears 50 rebounds with 14 and 10, respectively.

In her final game as a Saint, Narber put on a show scoring a season-high 34 points nailing 11-of-18 field goals, including 5-of-7 from long range, and hit all seven shots from the free-throw line. She also pulled down a team-high eight boards. Taelor Sanders registered 10 points for Aquinas.