Boxscore and play-by-play

Reserve Alexa Neal made a splash for Anderson with a game-high 17 points and six steals as the third-seeded Trojans survived a battle with Fairmont State.  Anderson scored 13 of the game's final 17 as they broke open a tight contest in the final minutes.

Anderson advances to Saturday evening's first semifinal to meet California, a 70-54 quarterfinal victor against Millersville.  Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

Fairmont State (25-7) roared out of the gates, scoring the first nine points.  Anderson battled back and took their first lead of the game on a Neal trifecta at 12-11.  The lead would change hands five times before a late 6-2 spurt sent the Trojans (28-3) to the intermission with a 33-29 edge.

Anderson never trailed in the second half, but the Conference Carolinas regular season champions could not shake the pesky Falcons.  FSU still remained in strking distance with 3:32 remaining when Molly Kiger's driving layup cut the margin to 52-48.  However, that would be the Falcons' final field goal of the contest.

Keana Boyd added a dozen points for Anderson, while Latrice Thomas chipped in 10.  All-region center Nikki Anthony was limited to five points, but grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. 

Fairmont State was paced by Kiger's 12 points.  Jaimie Merinar chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds.  West Virginia Conference tournament MVP Danielle Cornish battled foul trouble and netted eight points in only 24 minutes of action.
 

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