Junior forward Jordan Carpenter scored a geame-high 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the University of Mary Washington women's basketball team to a 75-69 victory at DeSales University on Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Eagles advance to the sectional semifinals for the first time since 2012, and improve to 24-6 on the season.

The game remained tight throughout and started with an offensive showcase in the first quarter. The lead changed hands 11 times in the tight battle, and stood tied late, at 17-17, when Elizabeth Dufrane was fouled at the buzzer on a three pointer and connected on all three free throws.

UMW maintained the momentum in the second, and expanded its lead to as many as 13 points, on a Carpenter layup with 3:24 left in the second. DeSales was able to make a run to cut the deficit to 37-33 at halftime.

In the third, DeSales netted the first six points to take the lead. From there, the teams continued to battle back and forth, with a pair of ties, before a three-point play from Carpenter gave UMW a 50-45 lead with 4:50 remaining. UMW finished the quarter with a 6-0 run to assume a 68-63 lead with 10 minutes to play.

UMW netted the first four points of the fourth to expand its lead to 63-53, but DeSales cut the lead down to five, at 63-58, with 5:46 remaining. DeSales trimmed the margin to four in the final minute, but Dufrane hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to clinch the Eagles' win.

Carpenter made 8-13 shots en route to her 23 points, and added 14 rebounds. Dufrane made 5-10 shots, including 2-5 three pointers, en route to 19 points, and Keagan Schwab made 3-4 three pointers in scoring 12. 

UMW shot 50% from the floor (24-48), making 5-12 three point shots and 22-31 free throws. DeSales shot 41.1% (23-56), making 3-15 three point shots and 20-26 free throws. 

The Eagles will take on Smith College on Friday in the sectional semifinal round, at a place and time to be announced on Monday.