CSU Northridge coach Christina Alatorre said she prepared the team for a range of “what if” scenarios, but she was referring to roster shifts. Both Northridge and UN Reno probably didn’t think that their DII national Round of 16 playoff would be decided in overtime, or by three yellow cards.

The opening quarter belonged to Northridge, as its forwards turned over breakdowns when on defense and secured the ruck with little personnel on offense, allowing for backlines on either side of the ruck. Wing Katie Kargari and fullback Jenna Loucks dotted down tries, while hooker Jess Murillo slotted a conversion for the 12-0 lead.

But once Reno held onto its possession a little better, scrumhalf Karla Navarrete and flyhalf Danielle Schumacher did well to freeze Northridge’s defense, dragging across the field a bit. Both Schumacher and fullback-turned-outside center Sara Parsons started breaking the line, and proved dangerous all game. Wing Ceclia Tovar and Parsons pulled the Wolfpack in close, although a Gill Chance try gave Northridge a little breathing room into the half, 17-12.

“Their backline was more evasive than we’re used to,” Alatorre said. “They were looping and adding in players, and that’s not anything we’ve seen through our whole season. It’s really hard to plan or coach for that when it hasn’t happened in season, and I think that’s part of the reason they did so well against us.”

Right after the break, Reno No. 8 Olivia Fulton scored in the corner to make it 17-17.

“They weren’t as intense going into the second half,” Alatorre said of her team and the immediate score. “That’s been our issue the whole season. We start off really high and end low, or it’s a roller coaster. We’ve been trying to keep the tempo of the game high throughout.”

Northridge didn’t let momentum get out of hand, and replacement wing Jasmine Mims had something to do with that. The rookie came off the bench when Sonya Livingston left with an injury, and she went on to score four tries.

“She doesn’t have as much experience, but she has the speed and is very evasive,” Alatorre said. “We were holding off on putting her in, creating a mental desire to play, but she adjusted very well.”

Two tries from Mims brought it to 29-17, but some more sit-and-wait defense saw Navarrete score beneath the posts. Schumacher’s conversion made it 29-24. And then Northridge suffered two important injuries: flyhalf Gillian Chance and hooker Jessica Murillo. As they came off, Reno's outside center scored in the corner, 29-all.

“We definitely had some huge downs, but I think we bounced back really well,” Alatorre said. “We lost three of our starters and that had an impact. But we’ve been coaching the new blood to step into their shoes, and they definitely stepped up.”

Outside center Yesenia Camacho moved over to flyhalf and did a great job. The team leaned on the go-forward of players like rookie Alyah Thomas, prop Ciarra Waters Mullen, and flanker Aaliyah Woods.

But neither team broke and the game went into overtime. Reno charged down the field and Schumacher lined up a penalty kick, which skipped off of the crossbar. But Northridge had charged the penalty kick and Reno got a redo – which went over, 32-29.

Northridge got into Reno’s end pretty quickly, and that attack drew three – yes, three – yellow cards, quickly. Two were for high tackles, and suddenly Reno was defending its tryline with 12 players. But the Wolfpack escaped the first overtime without a try against.

“In the beginning they didn’t realize how many cards went out, and they were just crashing it in and not really looking for the holes,” Alatorre said. “But once we explained it to them and slowed it down, they were able to see the field instead of having tunnel vision into the try zone.”

Northridge started moving the ball and Mims made sure it counted. Two more tries in the corner gave Northridge the 41-32 win and berth to the DII quarterfinal against Humboldt. Reno was a formidable worthy opponent, but when the pressure mounted and fatigue set in, Northridge's mental game was better.