NASHVILLE - On Thursday afternoon, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference 2013-14 Women’s Basketball Championships will open up with the quarterfinal round. The weekend tournament will be hosted by the regular-season champion and top overall seed, Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Kicking off the action will be the host institution as #1 Trevecca Nazarene will take on #8 Central State at 12:00 p.m. During the regular season, the Trojans won both meetings against Central State, pulling out the road victory back on January 2 by 11 points, 76-65, and then winning a little more comfortably, 91-70 at home on February 13.
#5 Ursuline will take on #4 Davis & Elkins in the second game of the afternoon session at 2:30 p.m. The Senators won both meetings against Ursuline by 11 points combined. D&E is the second leading scorer in the conference at 78 points per game, while Ursuline puts up 76.3 points a game. However, on the defensive end, Ursuline is allowing just 73.8 points a game, while the Senators allow 76.5 points a game.
In the evening session, #6 Ohio Valley will face off against #3 Kentucky Wesleyan. The Panthers in their first season with the G-MAC posted a 12-4 record in conference and led the league in scoring with 78.2 points a game. Even more impressive, they allow a league low 68 points a game.
In the final quarterfinal matchup, #7 Alderson Broaddus will face #2 Cedarville. In the regular season, Cedarville won both meetings with the Battlers, taking victory by an average of 22.5 points. The Lady Jackets are the only team to hand the top ranked Trojans a loss, winning both meetings with TNU, but their three losses (Kentucky Wesleyan, Central State, and Davis & Elkins) allowed TNU to take their second-straight regular-season title.
TEAM-BY-TEAM PREVIEW
#1 Trevecca Nazarene University (@TNUsports)
Trevecca Nazarene, who will host its second G-MAC Women’s Basketball Championship in as many years as the G-MAC has been active, won the regular-season championship after going 14-2 in conference. The Trojans will look to avoid Cedarville at all costs, as both losses came against the Lady Jackets this season.
TNU started the season on a roller coaster, going back and forth (win-loss) over its first six games. They finally posted back-to-back wins when conference season started with a pair of early games in December. Following a loss to Cedarville early in January, TNU rattled off eight-straight wins before falling again to Cedarville. The Trojans won its final three games to secure the top seed.
The Trojans are led by Kaci Britt Bell, who was selected to the G-MAC All-Conference First Team. She led the team with 6.6 rebounds a game and was second in scoring with 11.2 points per game. Anna Mitchell, an All-Conference second teamer, led the team in scoring with 11.8 points per game. Christina Curtner, an All-Conference honorable mention, guided the offense with 4.0 assists per game, ranking her third in the G-MAC.
#2 Cedarville University (@CUJackets)
An experience Lady Jacket roster, which features five seniors and three juniors, finished the season 13-3 with a pair of wins over the top seeded Trevecca Nazarene Trojans. Cedarville began the season 3-2, but hit a span where they lost five-straight, including their opening G-MAC game against Kentucky Wesleyan.
They rebounded to win their next three in a row, before falling to D&E, and then won an impressive nine-straight before a difficult lose to Central State. The loss gave control to TNU to secure the top spot and secured Cedarville at the number two seed.
Cedarville is led by All-Conference first teamers Kayla Jenerette and Raegan Ryan. Kayla Linkous and Deborah Gordon also received recognition as All-Conference honorable mentions. Jenerette led the conference in scoring with 15.2 points per game, while Ryan led the league in assists with 5.7 per game. Linkous (59.5%) and Gordon (57.3%) ranked 1-2 in field goal percentage.
#3 Kentucky Wesleyan (@KWCPanthers)
Kentucky Wesleyan led the league with 18 overall wins, but were locked into the #3 seed with a 12-4 record in conference, earning the tiebreaker against Davis & Elkins based on their record against non-conference NCAA DII teams.
The Panthers come into the tournament winners of their last three and four of five. The only loss was a double-overtime road loss to Davis and Elkins. KWC leads the G-MAC in scoring, in fewest points allowed, and in scoring margin.
KWC will be led by Karly Rhoads, the G-MAC Player of the Year and All-Conference first team selection. She ranked fifth in scoring at 14.2 points per game. All-Conference second team selection Jordanne Gambill and honorable mention T’Essence Phelps provide depth for KWC as Phelps is second in the conference with 9.1 rebounds a game and Gambill is eighth in scoring (12.9 ppg) and fifth in long range shooting (40.9% from beyond the arc).
#4 Davis & Elkins College (@SenatorNation)
Davis and Elkins, who tied Kentucky Wesleyan at 12-4, locked up the #4 seed winning five of its last six games - all in conference. All four conference losses came against the top three seeds, splitting the season series with #2 Cedarville and #3 Kentucky Wesleyan.
A difficult early season schedule had the Senators at 2-9 through 11 games. They finished the season with a 15-13 overall record, meaning they went 13-4 to close out the season. D&E will look to Jorden Lykes, an All-Conference first team selection, and Stephanie Wooten, a second team honoree.
Lykes led the team in scoring and ranked fourth in the G-MAC with 14.4 points per game, while Wooten was tenth with 12.6 points per game. The two seem to play opposite game offensively as Lykes recorded 110 free throws made and seven three-pointers, while Wooten made 55 of each. Lykes also ranked third in the conference with 7.8 rebounds a game, while Wooten was fifth with 3.8 assists per game.
#5 Ursuline College (@UrsulineArrows)
Ursuline showed great improvement from its 2012-13 campaign in the conference. Last season, the Arrows posted a 4-22 record overall and didn’t record a win in conference. This season, the second under head coach Shannon Sword, saw the team go 13-13 and 8-8 in conference.
Ursuline was fourth in the league in scoring, putting up 76.3 points per game, and was fourth in scoring margin, allowing 73.8 points a game. With a .500 record overall and in conference, the team was up and down all season. They are currently on a two game losing streak, but over the final month of the season they posted a 4-4 record.
The Arrows are led by G-MAC Freshman of the Year Erica Huber and All-Conference second teamers Emma Ricketts and Tajanee Wells. Wells is third in the league in scoring with 14.7 points per game, while Ricketts and Huber rank 6-7 with 13.8 and 13.3 points per game respectively. Huber is second in the conference with 4.3 assists per game.
#6 Ohio Valley University (@OVU_athletics)
Ohio Valley finished the season with a 5-11 conference record and have lost their last three in a row, following a three-game winning streak in conference. All five of the teams wins came against the #7, #8, and #9 ranked teams in conference.
The Fighting Scots will look to Imani Ward, who was a All-Conference honorable mention. She was 12th in the league in scoring at 12.2 points per game and fourth with 7.5 rebounds a game. She was effective from the floor, shooting 49.7% from the floor (sixth in conference). Saira House was second in the league defensively with 2.0 steals per game.
#7 Alderson Broaddus University (@ABBattlers)
Alderson Broaddus finished the season in a tie with Central State at 4-12, but earned the #7 seed through tiebreakers. The team struggled out of the gate, going 0-9 before earning its first win, a conference victory over Salem International. All four conference wins came against Central State and Salem International.
The Battlers are led by Sydney Shaffer’s 9.8 points per game. She ranked second in the conference with 52 made three pointers, averaging just over a pair made a game. Defensively the team ranks fourth in the conference, allowing just 71.6 points per game. However, they have scored the fewest points in the G-MAC, posting just 58.2 points per game.
#8 Central State University (@MarauderSports)
Central State earned the final spot in the eight-team tournament, with its 4-12 record. They lost the tiebreaker with Alderson Broaddus, as they dropped both meetings with the Battlers. However, the Marauders did manage to win its final three games of the season, including a win over #2 seed Cedarville and #6 seed Ohio Valley.
CSU is led by Demetria Lash, who ranks ninth in the conference with 12.8 points per game, and fifth in rebounding with 7.3 rebounds per game. As a team, the Marauders are scoring 75.3 points per game, only three points behind the scoring leader. However, Central State allows the most points per game in the league at 77.9 points per game.