FARMERS BRANCH, Texas – The No. 6 Seed Dallas Christian College women's basketball team pulled off another upset this time taking down No. 2 Seed Champion Christian College in Friday's NCCAA Southwest Regional Semifinals. After being the lone team in the bracket on the women's side to upset a higher seed on Wednesday, the host institution came back with a big third quarter after being down as many as 15 early in that frame. Timely three-pointers including a tying one for the last points of regulation by Keiarra Rivers kept DCC in the game.

Playing in overtime for the first time this season, the Crusaders kept their composure and were able to go up as many as six in the extra period and are now set to play in the Championship game with No. 1 Seed Arlington Baptist University.

Not only was it an upset in the bracket, but once again first-year head coach Larry Tidwell's squad knocked off a top 10 nationally ranked opponent. Barclay College was ranked sixth and Champion was second. Saturday's opponent holds the top spot.

Rivers was the star of the game again for DCC with a 31 points and 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double on the year and second in as many games this tournament. The Second Team All-Region selection continues to shine with 12-for-20 shooting overall and shot 6-for-7 at the free throw line. Her only made three-pointer was crucial for forcing the Maroon to knot the score for a chance at overtime.

Champion Christian appeared set to pull away in this game shooting 50 percent to DCC's 25 percent at one juncture. The Tigers also dominated on the glass with 59 rebounds compared to 43. This included 25 offensive boards. The offense for Champion went inside with a 54-26 advantage for points in the paint. What doomed the higher seeded foe was 6-for-20 at the charity stripe and just two made treys.

The Crusaders also took care of the ball more with a 24-18 difference in turnovers and they scored 28-15 on points off turnovers.

The first quarter was back-and-forth through the first five minutes, but then both teams hit a dry spell. The Tigers gained a nine-point lead (21-12) on a jumper from Harria Mendoza with just under two to go.  DCC was able to end the opening stanza down seven.

The Crusaders scored six in a row to nip the score to one at 6:37 in the second. Micayla Havard had a jumper and two free throws, and then Rivers, who had nine in the first quarter, would score the last two points in that surge on a jumper.

Destiny Gonzalez countered with a rare made trey and Champion later surged back to a double-digit lead late in the quarter. The Crusaders would trail 40-29 at intermission and appeared to have no answer for the size advantage down low.

The first three minutes to start the next quarter were quiet for the Crusaders and the margin dipped to 15. Crystal Eureste made a trey to keep the lead from widening. Taylor Brokenberry started DCC's 10-0 run with a layup that was assisted by Rivers. The team's standout player followed a steal by Avery Roberts with a layup and she drew the harm. After making the old fashioned three-point play, Eureste drained a trey and came up with a steal and layup on the breakaway to made it 46-42 with three minutes to go. With a little over two minutes left, Rivers hit a jumper to put the Crusaders up 48-47. That was the first lead for DCC besides a 9-8 lead on a Mckayla Washington triple. Things went back-and-forth, but the Tigers ended the period up three points. Dallas Christian did its damage on points off turnovers 11-2.

Washington knotted the score again on the first play with a trey that banked home. A few plays later, Rivers swiped a steal and was good on the fastbreak layup. Shabaria Walter added a jumper to make it a four-point lead. With around six minutes left, Rivers had a layup after and offensive rebound by Walter led to the second chance point. Eureste found DCC's top scorer. The Crusaders ballooned their lead to as many as nine with 4:33 remaining, but Champion struck back with 14-of-16 points to get ahead by three in the final minute.

Rivers nailed her trey for the Crusaders only field goal and points in the last 3:17 minutes, which had also been made by the junior.

The Crusaders defense mustered two defensive stops and chose to dribble the ball out the last four seconds and take things to overtime, where it was their game to control until the last horn.

Washington and Eureste were the other DCC top scorers with 12 points apiece. The starting five for Dallas Christian combined for 14 of the team's 17 assists led by Washington with five. The Crusaders swiped 14 steals with all-but one player having at least one. Havard came up with eight big points off the bench and Leia Twine was key in keeping DCC in the game during the early scoring troubles with two trifectas. Dallas Christian really shined at the charity stripe with a 16-for-21 effort.

Harria Mendoza and Destiny Gonzalez were difficult to stop for Champion as the duo had 25 and 21 points, respectively. Each easily garnered a double-double with 18 and 13 rebounds.

Champion moved to 12-8, while Dallas Christian reached a 10-win season.

Dallas Christian is on its home floor but will be underdogs to a tough Arlington Baptist team that has cruised the first two rounds of the tournament. Dallas Christian has proven to be up to the task with some gutsy performances on what is a historic season already. Tip-off for the action is at 12 p.m. The winner earns an automatic bid to the NCCAA Tournament.