The University of Rio Grande will square off with Rochester Christian (Mich.) University in the NAIA Women’s Basketball Championship First & Second Rounds presented by Ballogy on Friday, March 13, at 6 p.m., at the Newt Oliver Arena.
The 64-team field and tournament bracket was released by the NAIA national office on Thursday night.
The RedStorm is the No. 2 seed in the Naismith Quadrant and will be hosting a four-team pod for just the second time in school history. Rochester Christian is the No. 15 seed in the Quadrant.
Seventh-seeded University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) and No. 10 seed Indiana Wesleyan University complete the quartet of schools beginning their tourney run at Rio.
Rio Grande will face Rochester Christian in Friday night’s opening game, with the Cumberlands-Indiana Wesleyan matchup to follow 30 minutes after the first game at approximately 8 p.m.
Friday’s winners will meet for the pod championship on Saturday, March 14, at 7 p.m., with that winner advancing to the Round of 16 beginning March 19 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
Rio Grande, which was ranked No. 8 in the final regular season NAIA coaches’ poll, earned its trip to the national tournament as the River States Conference regular season champion.
Head coach David Smalley’s squad also won the RSC Tournament championship for a fifth straight year by defeating Brescia University, 83-66, on Tuesday night, improving to 30-1 for the season with a 21st consecutive victory.
The RedStorm is led by the RSC Player of the Year, senior forward Marlee Grinstead (Albany, OH). She averages a team-high 17.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game, while shooting 53.4 percent from the field overall and 85.2 percent from the foul line.
Grinstead is joined by fellow first team All-RSC honorees Allie Ellyson and Marina Garcia Perez.
Ellyson, a freshman guard from Glenville, W.Va. and the RSC Newcomer of the Year, averages 14.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest.
Garcia Perez, a senior guard from Leon, Spain, averages 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 9.7 assists and 2.4 steals per game. Her assist average ranks No. 1 nationally.
The RedStorm’s starting lineup also second team All-RSC honoree in junior forward Sophia Kline (Sugar Grove, OH) and third team all-league pick Payton Johnson.
Kline averages 12.1 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per outing, while Johnson – a sophomore from Peebles, Ohio – averages 11.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
Rio Grande leads the country in assists (24.2 apg), while ranking second in scoring (94.6 ppg) and field goal percentage (48.9%) and 10th in rebounding (45.2 rpg).
Rochester Christian earned its berth as the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament runner-up, while Cumberlands and Indiana Wesleyan both made the tournament as at-large selections.
Rochester Christian enters the national tourney at 21-10 after dropping a 76-48 decision to Indiana Tech in the championship of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament.
Head coach Jared Ocampo’s Warriors are led is led by 5-foot-8 sophomore guard Samone Andrews, who averages 13.5 points per game and 6-2 senior forward Kendal Zeiter, who checks in at 12.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Two other players also average in double figures for RCU – 6-1 junior guard/forward Jacey Somers (12.3 ppg) and 5-7 senior guard Ashley Loon (10.1 ppg). Loon leads the team with 63 three-point goals.
Zeiter was named to the All-WHAC First Team, while Andrews and Somers were Second Team picks. Zeiter and Andrews were also named to the league’s All-Defensive team.
Ocampo was named the WHAC’s Coach of the Year.
Cumberlands is 19-11 overall and is averaging 46.4 rebounds per game, which ranks sixth in the NAIA. UC also has the second-best rebounding margin in the country at 15.6.
The Patriots are led by All-MSC First Team selection Joy Kendrick. The 5-10 senior guard is averaging 16.9 ppg and shooting 43.0% from behind-the-arc.
Zaram Fredricks, a 6-4 senior center from Lagos, Nigeria, has had a program record 71 blocks and is currently sixth in the NAIA in blocks and fifth in rebounds.
Senior center Lakin Burke (6-1) averages 10.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season.
Indiana Wesleyan sports a 17-13 record and is ranked seventh in the NAIA by limiting opponents to 8.2 offensive rebounds per game.
The Wildcats are led by freshman forward Ayla Krygier (5-11), an All-Crossroads League First Team selection. She averaged 14,0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
Freshman forward Addi Hovey (5-10) was named to the second team and 5-10 junior guard Emily Mattingly claimed a spot on the Honorable Mention Team.
Hovey averages 11.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest, while Mattingly averages 9.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Krygier and Hovey were both named to the Crossroad League’s All-Freshman team.
Live video will be available at https://urbanedgenetwork.net/.
Live statistics will also be available at https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/wbkb/scoreboard.
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