The Oglethorpe women's basketball team got off to an excellent start in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Friday afternoon, beating the William Peace Pacers 88-74 at the Clive M. Beck Center in Lexington, Kentucky, to advance to the tournament's second round for the fourth time in program history and second time in as many seasons.

The Stormy Petrels improved to 28-1 with the win, setting the new program standard for most wins in a season. They bested the previous mark of 27 held by the 2007-08 and 2008-09 teams.

Oglethorpe pulled out to a 13-point lead in the first half but saw William Peace tighten things up and pull to within just a point several times in the third quarter. The Petrels responded by outscoring the Pacers 29-18 in the fourth quarter, pulling away to a 14-point win. 

With the score 65-64 at the 7:50 mark of the fourth, the Petrels began the run which put William Peace away. They finished the game on a 23-10 spurt over the final 7:30. Freshman guard Amy Vazquez drove to the basket and laid it in to get the run started, then senior guard Morgan Grindle did the same after a William Peace miss to make it 69-64 with just under 7 minutes left. After several empty possessions on both ends, Vazquez again drove to the hoop to give her team a 71-64 lead at the 6:15 mark, then freshman guard Olivia Herrera did the same to give the Petrels a 73-64 advantage with 5:50 on the clock. Oglethorpe never looked back after that.

After a first quarter which featured sub-40 percent shooting performances by both teams, the Petrels came back with an outstanding start to the second quarter. They began the period on an 11-0 run, capping off a 16-2 stretch dating back to when the Pacers led 17-16 late in the first, and took a 32-19 lead with 4:50 to go until halftime. William Peace responded with an 11-5 stretch over the next 4 minutes to cut the Petrel lead to 37-30, and they led 39-30 at the break.

The Pacers went on an 8-0 run early in the third quarter to make it 43-40 at the 7-minute mark, but the Petrels pushed it back out to 49-41 with 4:55 in the period. A 6-point run late in the quarter brought them back to within a point, though.

Junior center Savannah LeGate led the way for the Petrels again, as she has all postseason long. She scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while going 10-of-17 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Herrera added 18 points on 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-3 from the line, while sophomore guard Nikki Reed threw in 16 points on a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

The Petrels shot 46.4 percent from the field while holding William Peace to just 37.5 percent. They also outscored the Pacers 56-26 in the paint and forced 20 turnovers, the latter leading to 16 Oglethorpe points.

Oglethorpe will now take on Randolph-Macon in the second round from Lexington Saturday at 5 p.m. The Yellow Jackets upset host Transylvania 78-68 in Friday's first-round night cap. 

The Petrels beat Randolph-Macon 73-53 Nov. 16 at the Comfort Suites Classic in Emory, Virginia. It served as an outstanding bounce-back for Oglethorpe after suffering their only loss of the season to Emory and Henry the night before.