Knipe, Hawks end regular season on high note, win finale for first time in six seasons

BOLIVAR, Mo. — The day will come when the Quincy University women’s basketball program will have a series of firsts that highlight a return to prominence within the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

It takes a number of smaller firsts to get there.

Saturday, the Hawks experienced a couple of those.

For the first time since the 2015-16 season, the Hawks won at least nine games and ended the regular season with a victory, beating Southwest Baptist 78-70 at the Meyer Sports Center. Quincy won three of its final four games and moved up to the No. 13 seed in the GLVC Tournament, which begins Monday.

“It means a lot to me,” QU junior forward Emma Knipe said of the progress made this season. “Ever since I committed to this program, I have wanted to turn things around, and we are definitely heading in the right direction.”

QUincy (9-19, 5-14 GLVC) will face fifth-seeded Truman State at 5:15 p.m. Monday at Pershing Arena in Kirksville, Mo., in the opening round of the postseason tournament. The Hawks lost both regular-season meetings to the Bulldogs by nine and 10 points, respectively.

But the Hawks are playing with more confidence now, and the ability to bounce back from a humbling loss proves it.

Quincy lost at Drury by 27 points on Friday after scoring just nine points and shooting just nine percent from the field in the first half. The Hawks scored 40 points and shot 47.1 percent from the field in the first half Saturday against the Bearcats.

“It took everyone locking into scout and being able to focus on are next opponent,” Knipe said.

The Hawks scored the final five points of the first quarter and then went on an 18-6 run in the second quarter to push the advantage to 40-24 with a minute to go in the half.

Southwest Baptist put together a 16-4 run in the third quarter to get within 50-47, but the Hawks never allowed the Bearcats to get closer and extended the advantage back to double digits by the middle of the fourth quarter.

Sarah Nelson led the Hawks with 15 points and went 7 of 8 from the free-throw line, while Knipe recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to help the Hawks own a 36-30 advantage on the boards.

“Limiting them to one-and-done and finishing the play by boxing out was key,” Knipe said.

Now the Hawks prepare for their first postseason appearance in six years.

“It felt really good to finish the season out with a win and this gives us momentum going into the tournament,” Knipe said.