SIOUX CITY, IA – For the Jamestown Jimmies in women’s basketball, it was one of the biggest wins of their season.  For the men, it was one of their toughest losses.

Jamestown’s women upset 10th-ranked Briar Cliff 73-68 on Wednesday at the Newman Flanagan Center.  Then, a driving layup by Blake Sindelar with 11 seconds left was the difference in a 82-81 Briar Cliff win over the Jimmie men.

Women: Jamestown 73, (10)Briar Cliff 68
Kate Cordes and Audrey Rodakowski each scored 19 as Jamestown never trailed in defeating a nationally-ranked opponent for the third time this season.

Rodakowski also pulled down 12 rebounds for her third career double-double and sank nine of 11 free throws.  Cordes hit all five of her three-pointers.

Kia Tower scored 15 to move into fourth place in all-time Jimmie women’s basketball scoring.  Jailyn Martinson added 12, scoring in double figures for the fourth time this season.

Briar Cliff (12-4, 7-3 GPAC) may have had an idea that it wouldn’t be their night when a technical foul on a scorebook error gave Cordes a free throw before the opening tip.  Jamestown (9-8, 5-6), with 50% first half shooting, then steadily built the lead until it reached 16 at halftime, 43-27.

Briar Cliff, paced by Kennedy Benne’s 23 points, 20 of which came in the second half, cut the lead to three twice.  Mallie McNair scored 16 and Payton Slaughter had 13 for the Chargers.

Megan Oswald also contributed six points off the bench for Jamestown.  The Jimmies will next play Friday against the last-place team in the GPAC, College of St. Mary, in Omaha.

Men: Briar Cliff 82, Jamestown 81
Sindelar’s winning basket capped a 21-point second half and 23-point game for him as Briar Cliff (10-7, 4-5) snapped a five-game losing streak, winning for the first time since December 2.

It came only 14 seconds after Jamestown (9-9, 4-6) took its last lead, 81-79, on the fourth three-pointer of the second half by Silas Bennion.  Bennion fought through six-of-21 shooting to lead the Jimmies with 21 points, hitting five three-pointers.

After Sindelar’s tally, it appeared that Will Cordes had hit a go-ahead three-pointer with less than a second left.  But as Cole Woodford was dealing with a double-team and had lost his dribble, Jamestown Interim Head Coach Greg Ulland called a time out, later admitting that he didn’t see that Cordes was open as Woodford passed Cordes the ball.  After the time out, Bennion missed a left-wing three-pointer as time expired.

Neither team led by more than seven points in a game that produced 10 lead changes and nine ties.

Antonio Chandler scored 12 points with eight rebounds off the bench for Jamestown.  Cordes and Christian Lietz each scored 10 points, with Lietz nailing three three-pointers.  In total, Jamestown was 12-of-25 on three-point attempts.  Jimmy Llinas fell just short of a double-double, with eight points and 11 rebounds.

Matthew Stillwell, one of the top 10 scorers in NAIA men’s basketball, scored 19 for Briar Cliff.  Quinn Vesey scored 15 points and Will Lugar poured in 13.

The Jimmie men will next play on Wednesday, January 24, again in Sioux City, at Morningside.