Illinois Wesleyan NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Sectional Site
2010 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Interactive Bracket
Illinois Wesleyan 2010 NCAA Division III Sectional Game Notes (pdf)
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team will be playing on their home court again this weekend as the school hosts the sectional round of the NCAA Division III championships at the Shirk Center.
The Titans play Wis.-Stevens Point (23-6) in the 7 p.m. Friday semifinal while Hope (29-1) meets 28-1 Marymount (Va,) in the 5 p.m. game. The combined record of the four teams in the sectional is 108-9.
The Pointers were 71-58 winners over St. Norbert to advance to the round of 16.
Earlier this season, Illinois Wesleyan defeated Wis.-Stevens Point, 84-80, on Nov. 28 at the Shirk Center, and also ousted the Pointers from the 2009 NCAA tournament with a 77-64 win last March 13.
UW-Stevens Point has an 18-5 all time record in NCAA Tournament play, the best record for all schools who have played more than 10 postseason games. The Pointers won an NCAA championship in 2002 by knocking off St. Lawrence (N.Y.) 67-65.
Three Pointers were named all-WIAC this season. Andrea Flease and Britta Petersen were both named to the first team while Cassie Bandow earned honorable mention. Flease was also named to the all-defensive team. In scoring, Peterson leads the way with 15.4 points per game followed by Flease with 10.9 and Bandow's 10.5 ppg.
Coach Shirley Egner has a 381-174 overall record in her 21 seasons. The Pointers have won at least 18 games each of the past 10 seasons and own a league-best .810 winning percentage during that time.
With their WIAC tournament championship Feb. 27 the Pointers were able to jump from the unranked back into the top 25, ranking No. 23 in the D3hoops.com poll. The Pointers have been in the top 25 in nine out of the 13 polls this season.
Hope, making its fifth straight appearance in the tournament and the 12th in school history, has won 21 straight games and outscores opponents by an average score of 74.7 to 51.4. Hope defeated DePauw, 68-54, in the NCAA second round.
Senior Philana Greene was voted the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association women's defensive player of the year. She was also voted to the all-MIAA first team for the second consecutive year. She averages 8.6 points and 6.0 rebounds.
Junior Carrie Snikkers was named to the all-MIAA first team for the second consecutive year and is the only player on the team to average in double figures, scoring 13.2 per game along with a team-high 7.2 boards.
Heading into the sectional, coach Brian Morehouse has a 14-year record of 345-59. In his tenure, the Flying Dutch have won 20-or-more games 11 consecutive seasons, claimed nine MIAA titles, made 10 trips to the NCAA tournament, including five Sweet Sixteen appearances, and won the Division III national championship in 2006.
Marymount downed Medaille (Pa.) by a 74-44 score and has won 13 straight games heading into the sectional. The Saints will play with some added emotion as head coach Bill Finney will be retiring after this season. In 27 seasons, he has 553 career wins and a .733 winning percentage. His teams have averaged more than 20 wins per year for each of his 27 seasons with the school and he has led his teams to 16 NCAA postseason tournaments, including the last three. His highest finish was a Final Four in 2002. In addition to that there was one other Elite 8 finish and six other Sweet 16 finishes in the Saints' appearances.
Amanda Billy (12.8), Kathleen Brown (12.7) and Terell White (10.6) all score in double digits as the Saints hold opponents to 46.8 points per game while scoring at a 65.4 clip. Billy has sniped in 92 3-pointers this season and makes 38 percent of her trey tries.
