Illinois Wesleyan

FRIDAY, MARCH 18
Amherst 69, Christopher Newport 59 - Live Stats  /  Live Video  /  Box Score
Washington U. 87, Illinois Wesleyan 77 - Live Stats  /  Live Video  /  Box Score / Story

SATURDAY, MARCH 19
THIRD PLACE GAME - Christopher Newport 64, Illinois Wesleyan 58  / Live Stats  /  Live Video  /  Box Score / Story

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - Amherst 64, Washington U. 55  /  Live Stats  /  Live Video  /  Box Score / Story, Quotes

2011 ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Caroline Stedman, Amherst - MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
Nikki Preston, Illinois Wesleyan
Chelsie Schweers, Christopher Newport
Kathryn Berger, Washington U.
Jacie Dagnault, Amherst

The Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Ill., will serve as the site for the 2011 NCAA® Division III Women's Basketball Championships March 18-19.

Amherst (30-1), who was also a final four participant in 2010, will play Christopher Newport (29-3) in the first semifinal game at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 18. The host school, Illinois Wesleyan (27-4) will play the 7 p.m. semifinal game against defending national champion Washington University-St. Louis.

The third place game will be at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 19 with the title game at 7 p.m.

"For the second year in a row, Illinois Wesleyan is proud to serve as the host for the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championships," said IWU athletic director Dennie Bridges. "It gives Illinois Wesleyan a chance to showcase our campus and the Bloomington-Normal area and it is especially exciting to have our own Titan student-athletes be able to play in their home facility."

All four games will be video webcast by the NCAA free to all viewers and Gametracker live stats will also be provided.

All squads will have closed practices on Thursday and the players willl be involved in reading at local grade schools during the day. The schools, with their paired teams, are Epiphany Grade School/Illinois Wesleyan, Prairieland Elementary, Washington School/Christopher Newport and Grove Elementary.

There is a championships banquet Thursday evening at The Chateau and the teams will also have shootarounds on Friday prior to the evening opening session.

Enhancing the game experience on Friday and Saturday will be a collaborative effort with the local Special Olympics organization and the NCAA. Two teams from the local Special Olympics and Recreation will play an eight-minute game at halftime of the first semifinal and a SOAR dance and cheerleading team will be featured at halftime of the second semifinal.
SOAR athletes will also be involved in Saturday's festivities and awards ceremonies. For more details on the Special Olympics/NCAA initiative, click here.

For the second straight year, the popular Jesse White Tumblers will perform at halftime of the championship game.

ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY "TITANS" (27-4)
• Go here for the 2011 IWU Postseason Media Guide
• Chicago Tribune Story on Preston and Arlis
• Springfiield (Ill.) Journal Register Story on Lett, Schulte, Smith

The Titans are making their fifth straight and eighth overall NCAA tournament appearance and have an 11-6 record in tournament play. IWU has a 9-2 record in the last three NCAA tournaments while advancing to the final four for the first time after being in the round of sixteen last season and the round of eight in 2009. The Titans have won 12 in a row and erased a 23-point deficit to come back and win a 61-60 sectional final game against George Fox on Saturday.

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY "BEARS" (24-5)
Defending champion Washington University, winners of five straight national championships from 1998-2001, will appear in its 10th Final Four, and will play Illinois Wesleyan in the national semifinals. The Bears entered the postseason as one of three teams out of the University Athletic Association and defeated No. 1 and unbeaten Thomas More, 72-53, in the sectional semifinals. The Bears finished the regular season with a 20-5 overall record and an 11-3 mark in UAA play. Senior Kathryn Berger leads the team in scoring and rebounding while senior point guard Alex Hoover averages 9.8 points and 4.4 assists per game. Both were all-UAA players.

AMHERST COLLEGE "LORD JEFFS" (30-1)
The Amherst Lord Jeffs, in the final round for the third time, was also a semifinalist in Bloomington last season. Amherst is 12-0 the last three years hosting the sectional rounds of the NCAA Tournament in LeFrak Gymnasium, winning those contests by an average of 24.7 points. Contributing to that lopsided margin of victory was a 102-44 victory over Husson in the opening round, as the Jeffs are the only team to score at least 90 points in any game of this year's tournament. Five players scored at least 10 points in that win, with NESCAC Player of the Year Jaci Daigneault leading the way at 23. She also had 24 points and nine rebounds in the Lord Jeffs' 68-49 win over previously unbeaten Babson on Saturday in the sectional final.

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UNIVERSITY "CAPTAINS" (29-3)
The Captains won the USA South Championship for the third consecutive season to earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Christopher Newport is led by the nation's leading scorer, Chelsie Schweers. She scored 33 and 37 points in the Captains' first two NCAA tournament games, setting a new program mark for points in NCAA play. Schweers is backed up by a pair of senior forwards, Barbara Davis and Jessica Moore, both of whom were all-conference selections this season.