SIOUX CITY, Iowa -  [BRACKET | SCHEDULE & RESULTS] The Battle for the Red Banner continued into the semifinals of the 2024 NAIA Women's Basketball Championship final site, presented by Sterling and Bomgaars where Providence (Mont.) played its Frontier Conference opponent for the fifth time and Dordt's (Iowa) second appearance in the semifinals proved valuable against a first time semifinalist. Only teams from the Naismith and Liston Quadrants remain. 

Tuesday night's NAIA Women's Basketball Championship game will be broadcast on ESPN3. 

GAME NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS

No. 2 Providence (Mont.) (27-8) def. No. 2 Carroll (Mont.) (28-6), 58-53 | Box Score

• In the opening quarter, Carroll (Mont.) and Providence (Mont.) traded baskets. Tied at two, the teams remained scoreless for nearly five minutes until Ashlee Maldonado of UP broke the drought from behind the arc. The Fighting Saints found themselves back in the lead by one with 56 seconds left, which quickly flipped when Keanna Salave’a put up two points from the paint.
• Providence opened the second quarter with five of the next seven made shots, plus two shots from the free-throw line, putting the Argos up 12 points for the largest lead of the contest.
• Carroll opened the second half and scored seven of the next ten for a one-point difference. Providence pushed its lead with a three-point shot from Maldonado but the Fighting Saints responded with the next four points to take the lead into the final quarter.
• Another bucket for bucket opener led to three lead changes to start the fourth quarter, and Providence was the last to take the lead. Carroll tied the score two more times before an 8-4 run that put the Argos up by six points with 25 seconds left, which would give UP the space they needed to advance to the championship.
• This is the first time in program history that Providence has advanced to the championship game.
• Maldonado of UP led all scorers with 22 points. Kyndall Keller of Carroll followed with 17 points.
• Maddy Dixon of UP and Jamie Pickens of Carroll both posted double-doubles, with 12 points and 12 rebounds (5 def, 7 off) and 16 points and 16 rebounds (11 def, 5 off), respectively.
• Providence held the Fighting Saints to 20% from beyond the arc, while Carroll put up 32 points in the paint compared to the Argos 14.

 No. 1 Dordt (Iowa) (34-2) def. No. 3 Cumberlands (Ky.) (26-10), 83-73 | Box Score

GAME NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS

• Cumberlands (Ky.) was the first on the board with a free throw from Channing Lewis and built the lead from there, holding a seven-point lead at the end of the opening quarter.
• The Patriots opened the second quarter with a 10-2 scoring run that would give them their largest lead of the contest. Dordt, however, found its footing and answered with a 14-2 scoring run sparked by a shot in the paint from Janie Schoonhoven. The scoring run put the Defenders in a position to tie the score at 33 at the half.
• The teams traded buckets to open the second half until Dordt went on a 17-0 run sparked by a shot from Macy Sievers in the paint and was highlighted by three, three-point shots from Macey Nielson and Liv Harazin. This gave the Defender a 17-point advantage, which they took with them to the final quarter.
• UC scored 14-4 at the opening of the fourth quarter and closed the scoring gap to six points. After going back and forth, the Patriots closed the scoring gap to a margin of four points with 50 seconds left in the game with a shot from Lakin Burke in the paint. However, after Burke’s shot, Cumberlands would remain scoreless while the Defenders went to the line three different times and made both shots all three times for the 10-point final 83-73.
• This will be the second time that Dordt (Iowa) has advanced to the championship. The first time was in 2022 against former NAIA member Thomas More (Ky.).
• Bailey Beckman of Dordt led all scorers with 28 points on the night. Kassie Monday of UC followed with 23 points.
• Macy Sievers and Janie Schoonhoven both recorded double-doubles on the night. Sievers posted 12 points and 10 assists, while Schoonhoven posted 21 points and 10 rebounds (7 def, 3 off).
• The Defenders knocked down 72.7% of their three-point shots, while the Patriots were held to 20%.