La Crosse, Wis. - The Viterbo University Women's Basketball team earned themselves a spot in the Midwest Collegiate Conference Playoffs Monday night as they defeated Ashford University 62-58 in a play-in game.

Viterbo used a last second steal by Sami Weaver (Fr. - Trempealeau, Wis.) who finished with a layup on the other end to seal the victory which advanced the V-Hawks to the quarterfinals Thursday night. Weaver finished the night with 10 points for the V-Hawks, but none more crucial than her final two.

It was Ashford who went into halftime with a two point lead after catching fire from behind the three point line in the first half. The Saints went 6-8 (75.0%) from behind the arc led by both Kayla Crist and Shel'si Weaver who each connected on two from long range. Both teams failed in their attempts to pull away in the first half as the Saints went just 4-10 (40.0%) from the free throw line while the V-Hawks went 0-3.

The second half saw a lot of back and forth action as well as there were eight ties and seven lead changes. The biggest lead in the half belonged to Ashford as they held a 44-39 lead with 13:00 minutes remaining. However, the V-Hawks improved free throw shooting in the second half led them back into the game and helped in sealing the victory. Viterbo went 14-18 (77.8%) from the line in the second half including two clutch free throws from Weaver giving the V-Hawks a 59-58 lead with just 23 seconds remaining. Weaver's steal and layup with just 15 seconds remaining sealed the victory for Viterbo and advances the V-Hawks to the quarterfinals.

Dani Templin (Fr. - Richland Center, Wis.) led the V-Hawks in scoring with 18 points while also dishing out four assists. Also scoring in double figures for the V-Hawks was Weaver and Paige Babiash (So. - West Salem, Wis.) who each finished with 10 points. Crist led all Ashford scorers' with 13 points as she finished 3-4 from three point range.

Both teams finished 22-52 (42.3%) from the field while the V-Hawks held a 38-31 rebounding advantage. Viterbo also finished 14-21 (66.7%) from the free throw line compared to just 4-12 (33.3%) by the Saints.

The V-Hawks (8-23) will now face the number one seed Iowa Wesleyan College on Thursday night at 7:00 pm in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The loss ends Ashford's season as they finish with an 8-21 record.