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WBSK: NCAA TOURNAMENT: Bruins To Meet Carthage in “Sweet 16” Round in St. Louis
NEWBERG, Ore. - Traveling from the land where the historic Lewis and Clark Trail ended to the place where it began, the George Fox University Bruins will meet the Carthage College Lady Reds Friday in the "Sweet 16" round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Championship Tournament in St. Louis, Mo.
Joining George Fox (27-2) and Carthage (24-4) in one of four four-team sectionals Mar. 12-13 will be the host Washington University-St. Louis Bears (25-2) and the Mount Union College Purple Raiders (26-4). Times and other details about the sectional will be announced some time Monday following a morning conference call among all the participating schools.
The field for the St. Louis sectional presents an intriguing possible scenario. Though coaches will always say "we only take ‘em one game at a time", wins by both George Fox and Washington would set up a rematch of last year's national championship game in Holland, Mich., won by the Final Four newcomer Bruins 60-53 over the tournament-tested Bears.
To set that up, however, the Bruins must first get past the Carthage Lady Reds from Kenosha, Wisc., who are ranked 14th by D3hoops and 16th in the WBCA poll. Carthage finished second to Illinois Wesleyan University in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and received an at-large bid to the post-season. The Lady Reds posted their first-ever victory in the NCAA Tournament on Friday with a 73-60 victory over Northland College, and advanced to the sectional with a 79-74 win over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Saturday. George Fox and Carthage have never met.
Washington-St. Louis, the champion of the University Athletic Association with a 13-1 record and ranked 6th in both national polls, is perhaps the most storied program in Division III women's basketball. The Bears are making an NCAA-record 21st straight trip to the playoffs and 22nd overall, with a 51-18 all-time mark in the post-season and four national championships in a row from 1998-2001. The Bears advanced to their eighth Final Four last season before falling to the Bruins in their first-ever meeting. This year, Washington won its first-round game 81-67 over Maryville College and then won at Thomas More College 68-49 in the second round.
Mount Union, from Alliance, Ohio, is perhaps best know for its powerful football program that appears in the NCAA playoffs and championship game with incredible regularity. Their women's basketball team is only now coming into prominence, as the Purple Raiders, ranked 19th in the WBCA and second among "others receiving votes" in the D3hoops poll, are making their first-ever NCAA appearance. Mount Union finished second in the Ohio Athletic Conference but defeated Capital University 80-71 in the title game of the OAC Tournament. The Puple Raiders went on to defeat Washington & Jefferson College 71-48 in a first-round game and No. 17 Messiah College 64-55 in the second round. The Bruins nad Purple Raiders have never met.
George Fox, the winner of both the Northwest Conference regular season and tournaments titles, is in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time and has a record of 14-5 to date after defeating Louisiana College 65-49 and the University of Puget Sound 59-37 in the first two rounds at home this year. Here is how the Bruins have fared in their NCAA trips:
* Bruins in the NCAA National Tournament (14-5: Home 7-2, Road 1-1, Neutral 6-2) *
1999-2000
3/1 vs. Linfield (W 63-51) - 1st round
3/4 vs. California Lutheran (W 71-63) - 2nd round
3/10 vs. St. Thomas MN at Abilene, Texas (L 64-76) - "Sweet 16"
2000-01
3/3 vs. St. Thomas MN (L 52-64) - 2nd round
2004-05
3/5 vs. Chapman (W 86-55) - 2nd round
3/11 vs. St. Benedict at Ashland, Va. (W 74-69) - "Sweet 16"
3/12 at Randolph-Macon (L 51-63) - "Eltte 8"
2006-07
3/2 vs. Gustavus Adolphus (W 61-47) - 1st round
3/3 vs. Puget Sound (L 48-51) - 2nd round
2007-08
3/7 vs. Chapman at Tacoma, Wash. (W 71-55) - 1st round
3/8 at Puget Sound (W 72-66) - 2nd round
3/14 vs. Hope at Brownwood, Texas (L 40-47) - "Sweet 16"
2008-09
3/7 vs. Chapman (W 83-40) - 2nd round
3/13 vs. Oglethorpe at Crestview Hills, Ky. (W 71-56) - "Sweet 16"
3/14 vs. Hope at Crestview Hills, Ky. (W 58-46) - "Elite 8"
3/20 vs. College of New Jersey at Holland, Mich. (W 67-52) - Final Four semifinals
3/21 vs. Washington-St. Louis at Holland, Mich. (W 60-53) - Final Four national championship
2009-10
3/5 vs. Louisiana College (W 65-49) -1st round
3/6 vs. Puget Sound (W 59-37) - 2nd round
George Fox's Scott Rueck, the NWC Coach of the Year for the third year in a row and seventh time overall, has a record of 287-87 (.7667 146-24 home, 105-52 road, 36-11 neutral) heading into the "Sweet 16". The Bruins have 17th straight winning seasons, 14 under Rueck, who was named the NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year in 2008-09 by both D3hoops and the WBCA after leading the Bruins to a 32-0 record and the national championship.
