The MIAA champion Hope College women's basketball team will have to wait until the second round before launching play in the NCAA Division III tournament.
The MIAA champion Hope College women's basketball team will have to wait until the second round before launching play in the NCAA Division III tournament.
Seeded first in the Great Lakes region, the Flying Dutch (25-2) have drawn a bye in the first round and will host a second round game for the first time in more than a decade on Saturday, March 3.
Hope will host the winner of a Wednesday first round game which pits Ohio Wesleyan (21-6) at Lake Forest, Ill. (20-4).
The game will be played at Hope's Dow Center with a 3 p.m. tipoff.
The Flying Dutch will be making their fifth NCAA tournament appearance. Hope won the national championship in 1990, but lost in first round games in 1995, 1998 and 1999.
During its 1990 title run the Dutch played every tournament game at home. All of the first round game losses since have been on the road.
Coach Brian Morehouse's Dutch will carry a school-record 21-game winning streak into the tournament. The team's 25 victories is a single season school record.
The Flying Dutch went undefeated in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and won the conference tournament this past weekend defeating Alma in the championship game, 64-59.
Appearing in the NCAA tournament for the fourth time (1992-95-99-01), Ohio Wesleyan won the championship of the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Lady Bishops have yet to win an NCAA tournament game.
Lake Forest is making its third NCAA tournament appearance (1994-00-01) after winning the championship of the Midwest Conference. A year ago Calvin of the MIAA defeated Lake Forest 68-42 in a first round game.
Washington, Mo. (23-2) is the three-time defending national champion.
Saturday's second round games will reduce the 50-team field to a "Sweet Sixteen" which will advance to sectional tournament action the weekend of March 9-10. The four sectional winners will advance to the Final Four in Danbury, Conn on March 16-17.
The Flying Dutch have played two teams in the tournament field. Hope defeated Bowdoin, Me. (19-7) in their season opener at a tournament hosted by Lake Forest, 61-43. The Dutch also defeated Thomas More, Ky. (13-11) in a home tournament in December, 77-37.