Trojans roll in national tourney opener, 84-65
- Seifert collects 16th double/double with 24 points, 12 rebounds
- Spotts scores 22 points, join's school's exclusive 1,000-point club
- Trojans advance to Thursday's quarterfinals
HICKORY, N.C. - The NIACC women's basketball team is moving on at the national tournament.
Eighth-seed NIACC cruised to a 84-65 victory over ninth-seed Lincoln Land CC Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II national tournament at the Tarlton Complex on the Catawba Valley CC campus.
NIACC (28-3) received 24 points from freshman Ciara Seifert and 22 points from sophomore Reggi Spotts as the Trojans' advanced to Thursday's quarterfinals against No. 1 and defending national champion Johnson County CC.
It was the first time two players scored at least 20 points in the same game since Tori Miller (28) and Spotts (21) pulled off the feat against DMACC on Feb. 28, 2025.
It was also the first time that two NIACC players scored at least 20 points in a game at the national tournament since Autam Mendez (25) and Jada Buford (22) in a 110-90 loss to Pima CC in the consolation round on March March 21, 2019.
Seifert, who is from Rochester, Minn., also collected 12 rebounds and blocked three shots. It was Seifert's 16th double/double of the season.
Seifert nowas has 344 rebounds this season, which ranks fourth on NIACC's all-time single season rebounding list.
Spotts, who is from Nora Springs, connected on four 3-point goals and also had seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Spotts also drained four 3-point goals
Spotts scored her 1,000th career point on a driving layup in the first quarter. Spotts now has 1,018 career points and became the fifth NIACC women's basketball player with 1,000 career points.
Terri Helgeson ranks fourth on the school's all-time career scoring list with 1,026 career points. Others with 1,000 career points are Chelsey Jacox (2012-14) with 1,182, Jennifer Currier (1986-88) with 1,057 and Autam Mendez (2018-20) with 1,045.
Spotts also has 181 career steals, which ranks fifth on the school's career list, and 120 career 3-point goals, which ranks sixth on the school's career list.
Also for the Trojans on Tuesday, freshman Peyton Meincke scored 11 points with four rebounds and three assists. Freshman Tillie Smith came off the bench to score nine points, including a career-best three 3-point goals, with three rebounds and three assists.
Freshman Zaria Falls scored seven points with two rebounds and one steal.
NIACC, which has won seven straight games, led 20-6 after the first quarter and took a 39-29 lead to the halftime break. The Trojans outscored the Loggers 21-12 in the third quarter to take a 60-41 lead into the fourth quarter.
Lincoln Land CC couldn't get any closer in the final 10 minutes with both teams scoring 24 points.
Lincoln Land (28-5) was led by sophomore Lillie Woodworth with 22 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals. Freshman Isabella Tiburzi came off the bench to score 13 points for the Loggers and Zoey Beehn was also in double figures with 12 points.
Lincoln Land now plays Moraine Valley CC in the consolation bracket at noon (EDT) on Wednesday.
NIACC plays Johnson County CC (33-0) in the championship quarterfinals at noon (EDT) on Thursday. The Cavaliers topped Cleveland CC 83-58 in their game on Tuesday.
Johnson County CC, which topped 75-67 in last year's national title game, will carry a 37-game winning streak into Thursday's national quarterfinals against the Trojans.
Tuesday's national tournament win by the Trojans was their first at the national tournament since they topped Wayne County CC 90-74 on March 19, 2019 in Harrison, Ark. in the first round of the national tournament.
NIACC now has a record of 14-14 at the national tournament.
Sixth-year coach Brad Vaught is the seventh coach in school history to win a game at the national women's basketball tournament. Others are Todd Ciochetto, Kelli Terrell, John Oertel, Gary Mekelburg, Marilyn Pearson and Curt Riedel.
