Rochester, MN-

The Hibbing Community College Cardinals and the Western Technical College Cavaliers are both headed to the 2018-19 NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Championships to be held March 14-16 in Bethlehem, PA after capturing the Region XIIIB and Region XIIIA tournament crowns on Sunday, March 3. 

Hibbing defeated Northland Community & Technical College 67-62 in a back-and-forth affair at HCC.  Hannah Morris scored a season-high 29 points for the Cardinals, matched in effort by Northland's Brooke Heggie who also hit for 29 points; Heggie also hauled a game-high 13 rebounds for the Pioneers. Northland also saw Carly Mekash add nine rebounds, five assists and 13 points to the NCTC cause.  Bethany Baldwin chipped in 16 points for Coach-of-the-Year Kate Brau's Cardinal squad, while Sherae' Cherenfant hit double-digits in boards at ten and had three steals for HCC.  

For Hibbing, Morris' 11-of-16 shooting from the field - including a 5-of-8 mark from three-point land - proved to be the difference in the game.   The sophomore from Grand Rapids was averaging about 12.5 points-per-game coming into Sunday's championship tilt,  which featured two nationally ranked teams. The 5'9" sophomore and her Hibbing teammates are now riding a 14-game winning streak as they prepare for the NJCAA National Tournament competition.  In addition the Hibbing Daily Tribune recently chronicled the story of Klaryssa Whelan, an impactful 6th player off the bench for Hibbing in this article. 

In La Crosse, Wisconsin on the campus of Viterbo University, Western Technical College faced the difficult task of trying to defeat a quality opponent three times in a season.

However, the Cavaliers were equal to the challenge and found a way to win a close title game, 68-62 over Anoka-Ramsey Community College.  The Region XIIIA championship offered contrasting styles, as the Golden Rams roster includes one of the nation's leading scorers in Mikayla Homola, a sophomore standout who leads the MCAC in points-per-game (27.3), total points (710) and field-goals-made (262).  Western Technical College featured only one player in double-digit points-per-game (Kerrigan Lyga, 12.9) but had ten different players make the scoresheet on Sunday in the victory.  Lyga led WTC in rebounding with nine boards, while Casey Moger had four steals, nine points and a pair of assists in a balanced effort for the Cavaliers. For the contest, Western out-rebounded ARCC 48-26 en route to their title.  Read more about the Region XIIIA title game, including photos and video clips of the championship at this link provided courtesy of the La Crosse Tribune. With the win, Western Technical College earns it's first-ever trip to the NJCAA National championships in any sport. 

The local television affiliate in in La Crosse, WXOW also featured WTC in this video clip. 

The Cavaliers and Cardinals will both make their way to the Arthur L. Scott Center in Bethlehem, PA; the quartfinal round of the tournament begins on Thursday, March 14 and concludes with the national championship game on Saturday, March 16. Both squads will have the chance to carve their name in the long list of Minnesota College Athletic Conference women's basketball programs who have won the NJCAA Division III National Championship; since 1992, MCAC teams have won 12 of the 27 national titles. 

To access information on the 2018-19 NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Championships, please select this link or go to:  http://www.njcaa.org/sports/wbkb/2018-19/div3/national_championship/index

For more information on women's basketball in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference, please visit: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/wbkb/index

NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball Statistical Leaders: http://njcaa.org/sports/wbkb/2018-19/div3/leaders

MCAC Women's Basketball Standings: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/wbkb/2018-19/standings

MCAC Women's Basketball Statistical Leaders: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/wbkb/2018-19/leaders

MCAC Women's Basketball Schedule: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/wbkb/2018-19/schedule

All things NJCAA Basketball can be found on the NJCAA Basketball Twitter feed; click below for more info:

This release sponsored by: 

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.