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Voorhees women's basketball coach Ed Glover was brimming with confidence entering Saturday's NAIA Independent semifinal against Park University.

Not only were the Lady Tigers of Denmark riding the momentum of closing the regular season with victories in six of their last seven games, they also enjoyed the perceived "homecourt advantage" as the team closest in proximity to the Jonas T. Kennedy Center.

Conversely, the Lady Pirates arrived in Orangeburg Friday after a 12-hour, 1,044 mile trip from Parkville, Mo.

Yet it was Voorhees which looked uncomfortable and out of place in the arena of its longtime archrival Claflin University. Shooting poorly and getting dominated under the boards, the Lady Tigers saw their NAIA tournament hopes crushed following a 70-44 loss to Park University.

"I just saw it in their eyes that this was big to them," Glover said. "Sometimes, I use the analogy that you're pumping Kool-Aid, not blood, and it just seemed like they were just overexcited by the game. They didn't look comfortable."

In losing by a larger margin to the Lady Pirates than the previous meeting, a 65-60 affair on Feb. 9, Voorhees had its worst offensive showing of the season. The Lady Tigers misfired on 50 of 64 shot attempts, including a woeful 2 of 18 from 3-point range, and made just four field goals in the first half where they fell behind 39-18 at halftime.

"We were shooting ourselves in the foot," Glover said. "We gave them everything in the first half. We just shot ourselves in the foot. We had our opportunities, had some good looks and the thing was...we missed about 10 or 11 layups in the first half. We missed some layups."

Park University's lead grew as high as 30 points in the second half, led by Brianna Edwards with 21 points and Katrena Richard with 11.

All-Independent First Team selection Brittney Whaley was the lone double-figure scorer for Voorhees with 16 points.

Even when Voorhees had opportunities at the free-throw line in a foul-plagued contest which saw 47 personal fouls called, it converted just 14 of 29 attempts. The Lady Tigers did force 31 turnovers, but could only match Park University with 12 points off the miscues.

While only slightly better from the field (22 of 54) and foul line (22 of 34), the Lady Pirates won the rebounding battle by a decisive 57-38 margin. They also enjoyed an overwhelming 47-15 edge in points off the bench on a night where NAIA Independent Region Women's Player of the Year Ashley Birch was stymied by foul trouble and finished with a quiet seven points and eight rebounds.

Park University (15-14) will face top seed Brescia University in today's final at 2:30 p.m., while Voorhees finishes the season with a 15-16 mark.

"We're a young team," Glover said. "We only had one senior on the roster and she didn't play tonight. She's injured. We're juniors, sophomores, freshmen. We've got a good group coming in next year. We should be a much better team than we were last year."

Women's Semifinal

Brescia University 75

Morris College 53

Danielle Jenkins posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds and Cristal Floyd added 13 as the Lady Bearcats improved to 17-12 on the season.

The Lady Hornets shot just 0 of 12 from 3-point range and were only 17-37 from the free-throw line to end their season at 9-22. April Drakeford had 11 points and Amii Rodgers and Christian Cooper each had 10 for Morris College.

Men's Semifinal

Mountain State University 110

Morris College 58

The fifth-ranked Cougars made it an enjoyable "Homecoming" for assistant coach David Barksdale, a former Orangeburg-Wilkinson boys' basketball coach, as they coasted to an easy semifinal victory.

Six players, including two with South Carolina ties, scored in double figures for Mountain State (29-2) as it posted 50-plus points in both halves. Aiken native Adron Marshall led all scorers with 23 points, followed by NAIA Independent Region Men's Player of the Year James Spencer with 18, Jason McGriff and Spartanburg native Ralph Legg with 13 points each, Denzel Lyles with 11 and Tyrice Watkins with 10. Columbia native Jarvis Jackson had 10 assists and three steals in the win.

Nathanial Thomas had 14 points and four steals to lead Morris College (6-22).

-- T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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