VERMILLION, S.D. -- For the third time in four games in the opening round of the NCAA Division II North Central Region women’s basketball tournament a lower seeded team has upended a higher seeded team. The University of Nebraska-Kearney, 5th seed, defeated #4 seed Fort Lewis College 66-58 to advance to the semifinals.

“I thought our kids gave great effort and were ready to play, played strong throughout, we had some runs, both teams got stale on offense but we played tough defense through that stretch,” said UNK head coach Carol Russell. “I’m excited to play South Dakota tomorrow. USD is very good, solid at home, we know we’ll have to play our best game. They have good scorers, great shooters and good depth. Defensively, they were switching and we hadn’t seen that but we will be better prepared tomorrow.”

Jade Meads scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Lopers (27-6) to the win. She made 9-of-14 field goals and made all six of her free throw attempts. She pulled down five rebounds, four of which were on the offensive end. Amy Mathis recorded a double-double for UNK, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

“We were able to beat their press better and we had more second half assists, we were setting each other up better and beating their press,” said Mathis.

Fort Lewis was led by Laura Haugen’s 16 points. She connected on 5-of-12 shots from the floor, including four from the 3-point line. Katie Mackey finished with a double-double. She recorded 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Nebraska-Kearney will now face South Dakota in the semifinals of the North Central Region. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at the DakotaDome on the campus of The University of South Dakota.