° The Flying Dutch are making their eighth appearance all-time in the NCAA tournament and sixth in 11 years under coach Brian Morehouse.
° Hope gained its berth in the tournament by winning the MIAA conference tournament. After having bowed twice to rival Calvin twice during the regular season, the Flying Dutch rallied to defeat the Knights 71-68 in the conference tournament championship game.
° For the second year in a year, Denison, Ohio is Hope's first round opponent in the NCAA tournament. A year ago in Columbus, Ohio, Hope prevailed 71-52 as departed seniors Bria Ebels and Linda Ebels each scored 16 points. Julie Henderson added 15 points and Jordyn Boles tallied 10. Hope out-rebounded Denison 49-38. The Flying Dutch were 25-for-33 on free throws compared to Denison's 6-for-11.
° Hope has a winning all-time record against all three teams in the opening round games -- 2-0 versus Denison, 5-1 versus DePauw and 1-0 versus Transylvania.
° Hope enters the tournament with a 24-3 record and two-year mark of 55-4. The seniors who have played four years on varsity have a career collegiate mark of 103-12 (90%).
° The Flying Dutch are the defending NCAA Division III champions. A year ago Hope defeated Southern Maine in the national championship game, 69-56. Like Hope, Southern Maine is back in the tournament. The bracket is set this season so that if successful, Hope and Southern Maine would meet in a Sectional tournament championship game.
° Only twice in the 25-year history of the tournament has the defending champion successfully repeated -- Capital, Ohio, 1994-1995, and Washington-St. Louis, 1998-1999-2000-2001. Hope was also the NCAA champion in 1990.
° Hope's all-time record in the women's tournament is 15-6.
° The Flying Dutch will be playing their 12th consecutive NCAA tournament game on the road dating back to 2002. The Flying Dutch are 9-2 in those games.
° In 11 seasons under coach Morehouse, the Flying Dutch are 277-54 (84%). He entered the 2006-07 season ranked seventh among active NCAA Division III coaches by winning percentage.
° Guard Julie Henderson was voted the MIAA's defensive player of the year. She has a team-leading 63 steals this season and is also the leader in assists with 117. A senior academically, Henderson has a year of eligibility left because of an injury suffered her freshman year.
° Junior guard Jordyn Boles was voted All-MIAA first team for the second year in-a-row. She is joined on the All-MIAA first team by senior center Ellen Wood. Julie Henderson received All-MIAA second team recognition.
° Hope has advanced both of its men's and women's teams to the NCAA tournament for the seventh time in school history. The other years were 1990, 1995, 1998, 2002, 203 and 2006. The men's team play at Aurora University in Aurora, Ill. this weekend.
° The MIAA has now sent two teams to the NCAA women's championship eight times.
In 1999 three MIAA teams qualified. This the third straight year to accomplish that
fete. The two-team qualifying years were: 1991, Adrian/Calvin; 1992, Adrian/Alma;
1996, Calvin/Alma; 1997, Alma/Calvin; 1998, Calvin/Hope; 1999, Calvin/Hope/Defiance;
2005, Albion/Calvin; 2006, Calvin/Hope; 2007, Calvin/Hope.