The Grand View women's basketball team survived a tenacious Mount Mercy team in the semifinal round of the MCC Tournament this afternoon in Des Moines. The Vikings built a 21 point first half lead only to have the Mustangs battle back to get within one point in the second half. Grand View played solid defense and hit key free throws down the stretch to pull out the 70-59 win.

GV jumped out to an early 9-1 lead in the opening minutes of the game. MMC hit its next couple shots to pull within two points, 9-7, and the score remained tight until the 11:50 mark. The Vikings took a six point lead at 11:30, followed by a five minute drought by both teams. Grand View closed out the half with a 17-5 run and led 30-19 at the half.

Mount Mercy came roaring back in the second half, nailing three three-pointers and three more buckets in the first six minutes to cut the lead ten points, 47-37. Turnovers plagued the Vikings as the Mustangs closed in 54-53 with 7:03 left in the game. An old fashioned three-point play followed by a trey by Jennifer Jorgensen (Dayton, Iowa) put some life back into the Vikings who took a 60-53 lead. MMC's Catalina Quintana answered with a three-point play to get within four points, but that's the closest MMC would get. Mount Mercy missed five three-pointers and committed two crucial turnovers in the final three minutes of the game and was forced to foul. GV was 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final minute of the game to seal the win.

Jorgensen scored a season-high 28 points along with 13 rebounds for her twelfth double-double of the season. She was 7-of-8 from the field, 4-of-4 from behind the arc, and 10-of-12 from the free throw line and had five blocks. Bailey Schechinger (Manilla, Iowa) matched her season-high with 22 points along with 10 boards. Schechinger was 8-of-10 from the floor and recorded four blocks. Micah Reed added 10 points and five assists.

As a team, GV shot 50% (22-of-44) from the field, 50% (7-of-14) from the three-point line, and 73.1% (19-of-26) from the free throw line. Grand View outrebounded Mount Mercy 39-35 and held the Mustangs to 29.3% from the floor.

No. 17 Grand View (25-7) travels to Mount Pleasant Monday for a showdown with No. 13 Iowa Wesleyan (24-7) for the MCC Tournament Championship at 7 p.m.. The winner receives an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship held March 10-16 in Sioux City, Iowa.

Monday night's game will be broadcast on http://www.kdpsradio.com/