It wasn't pretty but it counts. No. 1 Hope survived a defensive struggle against No. 22 George Fox and moved on to the sectional semifinals with a 47-40 victory.

Stellar defenses and missed opportunities contributed to a near seven minute scoring drought for both schools before the Flying Dutch's younger players took over. Sophomore Philana Greene scored 13 points and freshman Carrie Snikkers hit two late three-pointers to lift Hope into the Elite 8. George Fox shot just 4 for 24 (16.7 percent) in the second half. Friday's tournament scores and updated bracket&&teaser&&

The win sets up a showdown between Division III's only undefeated teams, No. 1 Hope and No. 2 Howard Payne. The Yellow Jackets rolled past No. 19 DeSales 69-42 behind 23 from Stacey Blalock and 21 from Meia Daniels.

&&g-boxr&&Like Hope, defending champion DePauw survived a tough challenge from No. 14 Amherst. The Tigers defeated the Lord Jeffs 68-63 behind Cassie Pruzin's 26-point, 10-rebound performance. Amherst was within one with under two minutes left at 59-58. No. 6 DePauw faces No. 8 UW-Whitewater, which routed No. 9 Simpson 96-69 behind six scorers in double figures.

DePauw is the last team standing from last year's Final Four. No. 18 Tufts outlasted 2007 national semifinalists No. 5 Mary Washington 48-45. Trailing 46-45, the Eagles had three shots to take the lead but were unable to do so. The Jumbos play host No. 4 Messiah as the Falcons rallied in the second half to beat Rochester, 73-61.

No. 11 Kean jumped out to a 24-2 lead and never looked back in beating No. 23 Chicago, 70-56. Chari' Cooper picked up her 1,500th rebound in the win. The Cougars' win sets up a fast-paced showdown with No. 24 Oglethorpe. The Stormy Petrels kept their run going with a 69-63 win over No. 20 William Smith.