Game Notes (PDF)
WAYNE, N.J. (FEBRUARY 26, 2007) – The William Paterson women's basketball team (22-5) will face No. 22/22 McDaniel (23-3) in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Division III Tournament Friday, March 2, at 5:00 p.m. at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va.
The host Yellow Jackets (24-4) will take on Piedmont (18-7) in the other first-round game on March 2 at 7:00 p.m. The winners of the two first-round contests will meet in the second round Saturday, March 3, at 7:00 p.m.
“We are obviously thrilled to be playing in the NCAA Tournament,” said 14th-year Pioneer head coach
Erin Monahan. “Just to get back to the NCAA Tournament after so many years, and to have an opportunity to get back on the court, is tremendous. I am so pleased for our players, who have worked really hard this season and are very deserving of this NCAA bid.”
The Pioneers are 22-5 overall, including an 11-2 mark in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play. William Paterson won the outright NJAC North Division title, shared the regular-season crown with Kean, and was the overall top seed for the NJAC Tournament. The Pioneers defeated Rutgers-Newark, 64-55, in the semifinals Feb. 22, and fell to Kean in the championship game, 62-59, Feb. 24 in Wayne. William Paterson battled back from a 57-47 deficit with 3:27 to play in the tournament final, evening the score at 59-59 on a
Michelle Pellichero (Milltown, N.J./Bishop Ahr) three-pointer with 6.3 seconds to play, but the Cougars sank a three of their own as time expired to take the NJAC title, and with it, the league's automatic bid.
William Paterson moved into the national rankings for the first time since the 2000-01 preseason, climbing to 24th in the
d3hoops.com Poll and 22nd in the
USA Today/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) ratings on Jan. 29. The Pioneers have won 20 of their last 23 games, including a 16-game win streak from Nov. 26 – Jan. 27.
This marks the sixth NCAA Tournament bid in the program's history, and the first since 1998 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2007). Five of the bids have been at-large, with the sole automatic berth coming in 1993 after the Pioneers won the NJAC Tournament. William Paterson has posted a 7-5 record in NCAA Tournament games, reaching the 1995 and 1998 Elite Eights, the 1997 Sweet Sixteen, the 1994 second round and the 1993 first round.
McDaniel is 23-3 overall and 17-1 in Centennial Conference regular-season competition. The top-seeded Green Terror were upset by Ursinus, 63-53, in the Centennial Tournament semifinals Feb. 24. McDaniel was ranked 22nd in both the USA Today/Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll and the d3hoops.com Top 25 Poll as of Feb. 26.
Randolph-Macon is 24-4 overall and 18-2 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) regular-season play. The Yellow Jackets defeated Virginia Wesleyan 76-65 Feb. 25 to win their third straight ODAC Tournament title.
Piedmont is 18-7 overall and 10-2 in Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) regular-season games. The Lady Lions defeated Maryville 60-59 Feb. 24 to win the GSAC Tournament title and earn their first-ever berth to the NCAA Tournament.
