Official NCAA Release
INDIANAPOLIS – For the third time in league history, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference was proud to see two teams represented in the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship bracket that was unveiled Sunday night.
Qualifying for the Midwest Regional was No. 7 seed Walsh, who received the conference’s automatic qualifying spot following Saturday tournament title win, and No. 8 Kentucky Wesleyan, which earned an at-large selection.
This is the first NCAA Championship appearance for both programs since joining the Great Midwest. In 2018, the Great Midwest had Findlay and Hillsdale make the national field field while in 2017, Ursuline and Malone represented the league.
The NCAA Selection Show included 24 teams with automatic qualification as conference champions and 40 at-large bids by the national committee.
The Midwest Regional will be hosted by top seed Drury, the Great Lakes Valley Conference champions, in Springfield, Mo.
Kentucky Wesleyan drew the top regional seed and it will be another battle between the Panthers of the G-MAC vs. Panthers of the GLVC. Drury is undefeated at 28-0 and the top pick in the WBCA Coaches Poll as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team.
KWC will carry an 24-7 record into March Madness and finished the conference playoffs as the Great Midwest Championship runner-up. While the Panthers fell in the title game against Walsh, KWC blitzed Ohio Dominican with a 40-point win and beat Cedarville by over 20 in the semifinals.
Even with daylight savings time, the memory of Walsh cutting down the nets in Alumni Arena following Saturday’s championship win is still fresh. The Cavaliers, despite a double-digit win streak, weren’t quite positioned well enough in the Midwest Region rankings and needed a win to lock in a national tournament bid.
Walsh did just that as the No. 1 seed and co-regular-season champion (with KWC and Cedarville). The Cavaliers beat No. 8 Trevecca Nazarene in the quarterfinals and shined in front of the home fans with a semifinal win over No. 5 Hillsdale and ultimately, No. 2 KWC.
The Cavaliers' opening-round opponent will be No. 2 seed Lewis, also from the GLVC. The Flyers are ranked 19th in the WBCA Coaches Poll.
Seven eight-team regionals will be played at on-campus sites March 15, 16 and 18. The South Central region will have two four-team sites as a result of a split regional with men’s basketball. Games will be played March 15, 16 and 19, with the championship game played at the site of highest remaining seed. The 2019 NCAA Division II Women’s Elite Eight will be held at Alumni Hall in Columbus, Ohio, March 26, 27 and 29. Ohio Dominican University and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission will serve as hosts.
Game times will be officially released early this week following a conference call between the host and participating institutions.