Goshen and St. Francis opened their NAIA basketball tournaments in style, winning opening round games Wednesday. The Goshen women beat Concordia (Neb.) 85-82 while St. Francis rallied past Dakota State (S.D.) 96-81. The women’s tournament is being held in Sioux City, Iowa, while the men are playing in Point Lookout, Missouri.

Goshen (25-8) won its first-ever NAIA game with the help of four players reaching double digits. Lynnia Noel canned a go-ahead three with 13 seconds left in the contest, capping a 13-point effort. Gabby Williams led the Leafs with 19 points, Tyra Carver added 17 points and Keshia Ward pitched in 14 points in the win.

Goshen advances to play at 10:15 a.m. Friday against the bracket’s top seed, St. Xavier (Ill.), which moved to 30-3 with an 86-58 win over Tennessee Wesleyan.

Marian University also earned a win Wednesday in its opening round game, holding off Milligan University (Tenn.) 76-59. Lakan Hasser-Smith paced Marian (28-6) with 24 points. Kellie Kirkhoff added 15 points in the win. Marian advances to face Oregon Tech (26-8) at noon Friday.

St. Francis, the top seed in the men’s Naismith Bracket, had to mount a big comeback in the first half to get through its first test.

Austin Fox helped St. Francis battle back from a 15-point first half deficit, scoring 31 points and pulling down seven boards. Jordan Hahn added 16 points, followed by Seth Small’s 15, Kegan Comer’s 14 and Evan Henry’s 11 for the tournament’s top overall seed.

St. Francis (30-4) will also play at 10:15 a.m. Friday against Mt. Mercy (Iowa) (26-7), which defeated Southern Oregon 98-97 in overtime.

A full list of results from the tournament can be found at naia.org.