California's Kayla Smith (left) and Gannon's Brittany Tabron (right).
Three PSAC Teams Set for NCAA Women's Basketball Atlantic Regional
Gannon's Tournament Central
California's Tournament Central
PSAC Women's Basketball Weekly Release (pdf)
Two-time defending regional champion California, PSAC West and Tournament champion and last year's regional runner-up Gannon and PSAC East champion Millersville will be three of the eight teams vying for the NCAA Atlantic Regional title as the NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament gets underway this weekend. First round games are set for Friday, with the second round on Saturday and the third round/regional championship on Monday.
The Atlantic Region will be contested at two and potentially three different sites this year instead of just one as in previous years. This year, instead of just the No. 1 seed hosting all seven other teams, the No. 1 seed will host a four-team sub-regional and the No. 2 seed will do the same. The highest remaining seed after the first two rounds will then host the regional championship game on Monday.
PSAC Team Notes
California Vulcans
The Vulcans will be making a conference-record ninth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament...Cal U enters the weekend with an all-time record of 18-8 in the tournament after making two-straight Elite Eights following the 2004 National Championship...In the first round of the 2010 tournament, the Vulcans will face a new opponent in CIAA-member Virginia State (22-6), who is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002...The standout duo of Kayla Smith and Brooque Williams were both named WBCA All-America finalists this week, while also earning All-PSAC West First-Team honors and Daktronics All-Atlantic Region First-Team laurels...Smith enters the NCAA Tournament only 16 rebounds shy of tying the single-seasons school record of 366 set by Heather Corby in 1998-99...Williams will likely move into third place in PSAC history for scoring, as she enters the post-season with 2,162 career points.
Gannon Golden Knights
Gannon has been selected to host the first-ever regional in program history...The Lady Knights won their first-ever PSAC Championship with victories over Edinboro (81-67), Kutztown (81-65) and California (Pa.) (77-68). The Lady Knights were ranked No. 1 in the March 2 USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. It represents the first No. 1 national ranking in school history...The Lady Knights have won 33 consecutive games, 15 straight home contests and 48 straight games when leading at halftime...Gannon has set a school record for victories in a season (33) and is one win shy of the Division II record for consecutive wins in a season...The Lady Knights' current win streak is second in the nation behind only NCAA Division I Connecticut's 70-game win streak...Gannon is only undefeated team in NCAA Division II and one of five undefeated women's teams at any level of the NCAA.
Millersville Marauders
This will be coach Mary Fleig's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance as coach of the Marauders...The only other meeting between Millersville and West Liberty also came in the NCAA Tournament. Millersville edged West Liberty 64-63 in the opening round of the 2000 tournament...Millersville is 177th nationally in scoring average, but finished the regular season ranked first and is currently second in scoring defense, holding opponents to 51.8 points per game...The Marauders are also 11th in field goal percentage defense and third in steals but 221st in assist/turnover ratio...Over the last three seasons, the current senior class helped Millersville total a 70-8 regular-season record, but it is just 3-5 in postseason games...The four-year members of the group-Moyer, Craig and Bellamy-are 87-29 in their careers, and trail only the 2000-03 group (88 wins) and the 1999-02 class (90 wins) as the winningest senior class in school history.
NCAA Tournament Quick Hits
- The PSAC’s three NCAA Tournament representatives - California, Gannon and Millersville - each also qualified for last year’s tournament.
- Millersville will be making its third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
- Gannon will be making its second straight NCAA appearance and its third in the last four year, the last two of which have been as members of the PSAC.
- California will be making its ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Vulcans are the two-time defending regional champions, having advanced to the Elite Eight in each of the last two seasons.
- California is the only team of the three from the PSAC in the tournament that has won a regional title in the Atlantic Region.
- Millersville is looking for its first win in the NCAA Tournament since 2002.
- California and Gannon, who are the top two seeds this year and have already met three times, met in the regional championship game last year as well.
Past PSAC Regional Champions (since 1984)
2009 California
2008 California
2004 California
2003 California
2001 Shippensburg
2000 Slippery Rock
1999 IUP
1998 Shippensburg
1997 Edinboro
1996 Shippensburg
1994 Clarion
1991 Clarion
1990 Lock Haven
1989 Bloomsburg