Smith said she has never faced a team like Olivet that would bring in waves of players during every stoppage of play. Olivet played 15 players that saw at least seven minutes of action.

“It was crazy,” Smith said of the action. “We were up-and-down the entire game. It was constant and there were times when I did not even reach the offensive end because I had to get back (on defense). You just have to be strong and be prepared for it. That is what will get you through it.”

St. Ambrose coach Krista Van Hauen knew what style the Tigers were going to play but added you can’t simulate that kind of insanity in practice. She said the key to the game, ultimately, was keeping Olivet under 80 points.

“That was our goal. We thought if we could keep them under 80 points, we would have a shot,” Van Hauen said of her team’s strategy coming in. “If you have not seen (the pressure), it would be hard to believe. But the team did an excellent job of following our game plan. To be out, contesting 3-pointers, was really important.”

The Bees hounded the Tigers into a 4-for-24 performance from behind the arc in the first half, which helped build the 19-point lead. St. Ambrose breaking the pressure also allowed the winners to get 28 points in the paint, mostly layups, to build up a cushion.

However, that cushion quickly evaporated in the third quarter as Olivet hit six 3-pointers and forced eight Ambrose turnovers to cut the lead to 65-58 going into the final 10 minutes. The visitors kept up the hot shooting to start the fourth quarter and eventually took the lead 70-69 on a running jumper from Kennedy Johnson with 6 minutes, 39 seconds left in the contest.