HICKORY, N.C. – No. 6 Parkland Women's Basketball (19-4) lost in its bid to make the championship game in the NJCAA DII Women's Basketball National Tournament, falling to No. 2 Lake Land College (24-2) by the final score of 47-68.
 
With the loss, the Cobras will play in the third-place game on Saturday, April 24, at 5:00 pm ET (4:00 pm CT). The opponent will be either No. 4 Johnson County or No. 8 Illinois Central College. Parkland Women's Basketball finished in 3rd-place in 2011, when current head coach of Illinois Central College, Karrie Redeker was leading the program, and it finished as National Runner-Up in 2015, when Mike Lindemann, father of current head coach, Allie Lindemann, was at the helm.
 
Parkland was up, 6-2, but a 16-2 Lake Land run put #2-seed up, 18-8. By the end of the first quarter, the Lakers were still in control, leading 20-12.
 
In the second quarter, Lake Land continued to pour it on and began to run away with the game. The Cobras were plagued by sloppy play, committing 17 turnovers in the first two periods. On the other side, the Lakers drained 6 first-half three-pointers and converted 12 steals into 20 points, leading by eighteen, 39-21, as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
 
Parkland started the second half with a 10-0 run, narrowing the gap to eight points, but by the end of the third period, Lake Land had pushed it back to fifteen, 52-37.
 
In the fourth, an 8-0 run brought the Cobras to within ten points, with about 6:30 remaining, but by the end of the game, the Lakers had extended it to twenty-one.
 
Naomi McDaniel (22 points, 8 rebounds) scored sixteen second-half points and led all scorers, as she tallied a season-high 22, matching her career-high. Shaelynn Bell (13 points, 4 rebounds) joined her scoring double digits, and Mady Harper was tough out on the floor, contributing 6 assists and 2 steals.
 
All National Tournament games may be viewed at: NJCAA Network
For full championship information, visit: NJCAA DII Women's Basketball Championship