Birmingham, AL – The Millsaps Women's Basketball Team advanced to the conference tournament semifinals with a win over Sewanee earlier tonight.
 
Tonight's 59-53 win sends the Majors to the semifinals where they will face Centre.  With the game tied 53-53 with 40 seconds remaining in regulation, the Majors scored the final six points of the game to earn the win and advance to the conference final four.  Junior Kala-Jewel Freeman led the Majors with a season high 21 points including a go-ahead layup to score an eventual game-winner late in the fourth quarter.
 
The Majors held off the Tigers after leading 30-22 at the half.  Early in the second half, Millsaps extended their first half lead by as much as 12 points.
 
Sewanee, however, began to chip away at the Majors' lead with 4:22 remaining in the third quarter.  With Millsaps leading 41-30, the Tigers began a 7-2 run to close out the third quarter. 
 
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers continued their run by scoring six unanswered points, which tied the game 43-43.  From there, the game turned into a back and forth contest, as there were three ties and six different lead changes in the final seven minutes of play.
 
As the game stood tied 53-53 with 1:48 left in regulation, Kala-Jewel Freeman and the Majors offense took over.  Freeman drove through the lane to score a go-ahead layup with 40 seconds remaining, giving the Majors a 55-53 lead.  From there, Freeman again helped the Majors by forcing a Sewanee turnover. 
 
With a fast break opportunity, Kala-Jewel Freeman scored on the following play to give the Majors a two score lead – and they never looked back.  Freshman Braxton Thomas added another steal with eight seconds left to give Beverly Homes a quick layup, thus sealing the quarterfinals win for Millsaps.
 
Freeman led the Majors in scoring with 21 points on 10-16 shooting from the field and 1-2 on free throws.  Senior Miah Brooks nearly earned a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds while Kim Klunk finished with seven points and eight rebounds.
 
In overall shooting totals, the Majors went 25-55 (45%) from the field and 5-12 (41%) on three pointers while Sewanee finished 21-50 (42%) from the field and 10-19 (52%) on three pointers.
 
The Majors will continue their season with a semifinal matchup tomorrow.  Millsaps Women's Basketball will face sixth seeded Centre after the Colonels upset the three seed earlier tonight. 
 
Tip off from Bill Battle Coliseum against the Colonels is set for tomorrow, Feb. 27th at 3:00 pm.