BRADENTON, Fla. – The (2) Ottawa University women's flag football team's season ended at the NAIA Women's Flag Football Invitational on Friday afternoon. Ottawa defeated the University of Saint Francis 35-13 but the Braves fell short to Kansas Wesleyan University, 19-13, to end its season.
Game One – Ottawa 35, Saint Francis 13
Ottawa's offense was explosive from the opening drive and the Braves controlled the game from start to finish against Saint Francis.
The Braves marched 66 yards on their opening possession, capped by a five-yard touchdown pass from
Anna Anderson to Tatiana Dos Santos to give Ottawa a 6-0 lead. Later in the quarter, Anderson connected with Dos Santos again, this time for a 22-yard touchdown strike, and Ottawa led 14-0 after one quarter.
Ottawa continued to pour it on in the second quarter. Anderson found
Mya Quinn for a one-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 21-0. Two possessions later, Anderson hit
Alyssa Linkous for a 53-yard touchdown to extend the advantage to 28-0 heading into halftime.
Saint Francis got on the board in the third quarter with a touchdown pass from Jianna Reyes to Makenzie Fuess, but Ottawa answered in the fourth. Quinn tossed a one-yard touchdown pass to
Olga Sotillo to make it 35-6 before the Fighting Saints added a late touchdown.
Anderson finished 28-for-32 passing for 322 yards and four touchdowns. Sotillo hauled in nine receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown while Dos Santos caught six passes for 63 yards and two scores. Linkous added 65 receiving yards and a touchdown on three catches.
Defensively,
Jukanie Washington led Ottawa with six flag pulls.
Si'Naya Glover and
Dejonice Parris each recorded five flag pulls while
Jocelyn Garcia added four.
Game One Stats Recap
- Anna Anderson: 28-for-32 passing, 322 yards, 4 TD
- Olga Sotillo: 9 receptions, 104 yards, TD
- Tatiana Dos Santos: 6 receptions, 63 yards, 2 TD
- Alyssa Linkous: 3 receptions, 65 yards, TD
- Mya Quinn: 5 receptions, 16 yards, TD; 1 passing TD
- Jukanie Washington: 6 flag pulls
- Si'Naya Glover: 5 flag pulls
- Dejonice Parris: 5 flag pulls, 2 pass breakups
- Ottawa outgained Saint Francis 356-261 in total offense
Game Two – Kansas Wesleyan 19, Ottawa 13
Ottawa battled until the final seconds against Kansas Wesleyan, but the Coyotes scored with four seconds remaining to hand the Braves a narrow defeat.
After a scoreless first quarter, Kansas Wesleyan broke through midway through the second quarter on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Chihiro Iwata to Aliyah Wood for a 6-0 lead.
The Braves tied the game early in the fourth quarter when Anderson connected with
Marley Spielberg for a three-yard touchdown pass. Ottawa added the extra point to take a 7-6 lead.
Kansas Wesleyan answered later in the quarter to regain the lead, but Ottawa responded with a clutch scoring drive. With 43 seconds remaining, the Braves scored to move back in front, 13-12.
The Coyotes, however, drove the length of the field in the closing seconds and scored the game-winning touchdown with four seconds left to escape with the 19-13 victory.
Anderson completed 32-of-46 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns.
Alyssa Linkous led Ottawa receivers with seven catches for 79 yards and a touchdown while
Jaida Bayron added eight receptions for 55 yards. Spielberg caught five passes and scored a touchdown.
Defensively,
Jukanie Washington paced the Braves with seven flag pulls while
Bethany Uribe finished with six.
Si'Naya Glover recorded an interception and returned it 24 yards to set up a key Ottawa touchdown.
Game Two Stats Recap
The Braves end their streak of five straight NAIA Women's Flag Football Championships. Ottawa finishes the season with an overall record of 17-3, a sixth straight KCAC regular season championship and a sixth straight KCAC Tournament championship.
