Rochester, Mn-
The brackets have been set for the 2018 NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Championships and two programs from the Minnesota College Athletic Conference are positioned to pursue the hardware.
Northern Division co-champion and Region XIIIB winner, Northland Community & Technical College will square off against Montgomery in the opening round. Northland was awarded the #5 seed in the tournament and will face the #4 seed in Montgomery. The winner of that contest will take on the winner of #1 Rock Valley and #8 Rowan-Gloucester.
Rock Valley - located in Rockford, Illinois- is the top seed and host institution for this year's competition. Head Coach Shannon Nelson and her Pioneer squad are no strangers to the Tournament; NCTC is making it's eighth appearance in nine seasons and earned the National Championship in 2013-14, when they went 27-1. NCTC is led by sophomore center Megan Swedberg, who averages 19.3 points per game, along with 11.4 rebounds per contest and has earned an impressive 57.9 field goal percentage. Northland brings the dual threat in the paint with post teammate Brooke Heggie, second in the MCAC in field goal percentage (58.5%) and have a strong outside threat in guard Emily Anderson, who has a 36.2% success mark from behind the arc.
MCAC Southern Division runner-up and Region XIIIA champion, Rochester Community & Technical College was given the #6 seed and will take on UConn-Avery Point in their opening round game. If the Yellowjackets prevail, they will see the winner of Hostos and Onondaga, the #2 and #7 seeds, respectively.
Two RCTC student-athletes sit at the top of the charts for three-point-shooting prowess; Grace Riley is tops in the MCAC at nearly 44% in 3-point field goal percentage, while teammate Nautika Kotero is second at 39.3%. Additionally, Olivia Haug grabs 13.4 boards an outing, second behind only Katherin Ihnen of Minnesota West CTC. Rochester won the 2009 National Championship behind the strong play of Anne Breland, who earned Most Valuable Player status at the tournament that year.
For the complete tournament brackets, please go to: http://static.psbin.com/g/f/fkv0ct98evg0tr/2017-18_DIII_WBB_Champ_-_Bracket1.pdf
The 2018 NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Championships website, with campus maps, tournament logistics and more, can be found by clicking this link.
Complete MCAC stats leaders, final standings and more are found at: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/wbkb/index
This release sponsored in part by:
The United Heroes League seeks to keep military kids healthy and active through sports while their parents are serving the nation. The United Heroes League is headquartered in Hastings, Minnesota and offers several opportunities for colleges, businesses, organizations and individuals to help support their cause. The #1 goal for the United Heros League is to ensure that all 5 million military kids are able to develop critical life skills through sports. This intense focus on youth development and serving the families of our miliary service members motivates the United Heroes League to keep programs focused. This focus has also inspired over 90 professional athletes and over 30 sports franchises to lend their name and support to the United Heroes League.
About the Minnesota College Athletic Conference
The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State system. The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions. The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.