GUILFORD RECEIVES NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYOFF BID
Quakers open play this weekend at Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky.
GUILFORD’S INVITATION: By virtue of its 21-5 overall record and standing in the NCAA Division III South Region Rankings, Guilford College’s women’s basketball team received one of 20 at-large bids to the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Quakers will make their fifth NCAA appearance in school history and first since 2013. The Quakers also played in the NCAA Tournaments in 2001, 2002, 2012 and 2013..
Guilford plays the University of Mount Union (20-7) Friday (3/4) in one of two first-round games hosted by Thomas More College. The host Saints (27-0) play La Roche College (24-3) in Friday’s other game. The winners of both games meet Saturday in the second round. Each of the first- and second-games will be played in Thomas More’s Connor Convocation Center.
Game times and ticket information will be announced March 1.
SERIES RESULTS: Guilford has never played Mount Union or La Roche in women’s basketball. Thomas More won the lone meeting with Guilford, 88-74, in the opening game of the 2002-03 season. The contest was part of a season-opening tournament hosted by Wilmington (Ohio) College.
GUILFORD VS. 2016 NCAA PLAYOFF FIELD: The Quakers have a 2-2 record against the other teams in this year’s field of 64. Each of the four opponents played in the Guilford College Classic Nov. 21-22 in the Ragan-Brown Field House. Guilford defeated Denison University, 69-61, Nov. 21 and lost to Stevens Institute of Technology the following day, 65-64. Lynchburg College, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament champion, was the fourth team in the tournament. Guilford split two games with the Hornets. The Quakers won, 63-50, in a January 27 home contest and lost in the ODAC Tournament Final Febuary 28, 62-55.
GUILFORD IN NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Quakers are making their fifth NCAA playoff appearance and have a 2-4 record in NCAA games. In 2001, Guilford won its first ODAC crown and made its NCAA tournament debut with an 80-57 home win over Meredith College. The victory sent the Quakers to Abilene, Texas, for a second-round contest against Hardin-Simmons University. Hardin-Simmons advanced to the Sweet 16 round with a 106-77 victory. In 2002, Guilford again won the ODAC title scored a 54-47 home win over Methodist College a first-round NCAA game. The win earned another trip to Hardin-Simmons, where the Cowgirls prevailed, 72-71.
In 2012, the Quakers won their third ODAC title and the league’s NCAA playoff bid. Guilford dropped a 59-47 opening round contest at Centre College.
The Quakers earned their fourth NCAA trip with another ODAC title in 2014 and drew Christopher Newport University in a first-round game. The Captains won on their home court in Newport News, Virginia, 66-47.
THE 2016 NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Division III championship provides for a 64-team field. The NCAA granted 44 conference champions automatic qualification for the 2016 championship. The final 20 berths were reserved for Pool C, which includes institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that are not the conference champion, and any Pool B teams. Based on sponsorship numbers for 2015-16, there were no Pool B berths for this year’s championship. Sixteen first/second-round sites will be conducted March 4-5. Second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites March 11-12. Winners of the four sectional sites will advance to the national semifinals March 19. All games, except the semifinals and final, will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. The semifinals will be conducted at the Capital Center Performance Arena on the campus of Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.
The finals will be part of a larger 35th anniversary NCAA women’s basketball championship celebration taking place at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis the first week in April. Championship week will culminate with five championship basketball games and three national titles decided within a 48-hour period at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It will be the first time in the history of NCAA women’s basketball that all three divisional championships will be decided in the same city and venue. The Division I national semifinals will be played Sunday, April 3 at 6 and 8:30 p.m. EST. The Division II and III national championship games will be played on Monday, April 4 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively, while the Division I national championship game will be played on Tuesday, April 5 at 8:30 p.m.