Box Score

LAS VEGAS — The Crusaders proved to be talented comeback artists, but they just couldn't finish off a masterpiece Saturday in Las Vegas.

Down 17 points early in the second half, the Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team battled all the way back to force overtime, only to fall 92-88 to Minnesota State Moorhead at the D2 Vegas Showdown.

"We showed a lot of heart and a lot of fight today in the midst of a quick turnaround and some adversity with an injury and foul trouble," NNU head women's basketball coach Ryan Bragdon said. "We just got things going on both ends of the floor a little late, and you can't do that against a very good team like Minnesota State Moorhead."

Down 20-13 in the first quarter and behind 43-30 at the break, the margin grew to 47-30 in the opening seconds of the second half, then the Crusaders made their charge.

Kelli Christenson's jumper capped a 9-2 NNU push that got the difference down to 10 points with 6 ½ minutes left in the third, and a Lexi Tubbs lay-in in the final minutes of the quarter trimmed the lead down to 59-50.

NNU (1-1 overall) kept charging in the final quarter, closing to a possession down at 70-68 on a Kaitlyn Merritt layup, and taking its first lead since the opening minutes of the first quarter on a Tubbs 3-ball.

"We gave a championship effort in the fourth quarter to give us the opportunity to win, it just didn't go our way today," Bragdon said.

Both teams traded the lead from there until an Ellie Logan bucket in the fleeting seconds forced overtime.

NNU grabbed the early edge in overtime, up 85-82 on a Kate Cryderman basket, but the Dragons (1-0) used an 8-2 run to take a lead they never relinquished in the extra session.

Logan finished with 26 points and seven rebounds in the setback, while Cryderman scored 16 and Tubbs added 14 points and seven rebounds for NNU, which plays Thursday at Cal Baptist against the NCAA Division II National Runner-up Champion.