DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's basketball Cinderella story continues this weekend when the squad competes in its first NCAA Division III Tournament game in Iowa against 12th-ranked and host Cornell College (Iowa)
Game Schedule: (Game Day Media)
Friday:
Calvin College (Mich.) vs. University of St. Thomas – 5 p.m.
(Live Video & Stats)
St. Scholastica at Cornell – 7 p.m.
(Live Video & Stats)
Saturday:
First Round Winners – 7 p.m.
(Live Video & Stats)
About the Saints
Record: 13-14, 8-6 UMAC
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The Saints will be appearing in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time.
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CSS was the No. 4 seed in the UMAC Tournament and upset regular season champion University of Minnesota Morris in the semifinals in overtime and then went to defeat third-seeded Martin Luther College for the tournament title on Saturday.
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The UMAC Tournament championship was the second in program history with the first coming in 2002.
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Prior to the Minnesota Morris win, the Saints had not won a UMAC Tournament game since 2004.
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Of the 64 teams in this year's NCAA Division III Women's Tournament and the 62 teams in the NCAA Division III Men's Tournament, the CSS women are the only sub-.500 squad.
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In its program history, the Saints have won the National Little College Athletic Association (NLCAA) National Championship in 1988 and made the NAIA National Tournament in 2002.
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The Saints are led by First Team All-UMAC choice in junior forward Erin Frase (Phillips, Wis./Phillips HS (UW-River Falls)). Frase leads the team, averaging 13.9 points per game.
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Frase was named the UMAC Tournament's Most Valuable Player after averaging 17.5 points in the two games. She has averaged 16.8 points per game in her last six games.
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Frase is currently 10th in NCAA Division III, making 56 percent of her field goal attempts.
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Freshman forward Danica Schellbach (Rush City, Minn./Rush City HS) has also stepped towards the end of the season, averaging 17.7 points per game in her last six games.
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Schellbach recorded 24 points and a season-high 14 rebounds in the UMAC Tournament championship victory over Martin Luther on Saturday.
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Sophomore guard Mariah Hovick (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake HS) is second on the team in scoring with an average of 10.3 points per game. The honorable mention All-UMAC selection was pivotal in the team's upset win over Minnesota Morris, scoring a career-high 25 points, including 10 points in overtime.
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CSS shot above 80 percent from the free throw line for just the third time this season at Martin Luther on Saturday (26-for-31, .839).
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The Saints also grabbed a season-high 52 rebounds in the UMAC Championship victory.
About the Rams
Record: 24-1, 17-1 Midwest
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Like the Saints, the Rams will be making their first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament appearance and will be the host the four-team pod.
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Cornell captured its first-ever Midwest Conference Tournament championship by defeating Monmouth College (Ill.) 63-52 on Saturday.
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The Rams also won the Midwest Conference regular season championship, their first conference title since 1982.
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Cornell, who is a charter member of the Midwest Conference, had been a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) for 14 years up until this academic year when it re-joined the league.
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The Rams were just 10-15 last season and 7-9 in the IIAC. That is a turnaround of 14 games from last year to this year.
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The Rams carry a nine-game winning streak in to the tournament and have not lost a game at home all season (15-0).
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Cornell is ranked 12th in this week's D3hoops.com poll.
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The lone loss this season came at St. Norbert College by a score of 47-44 in mid-January.
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Cornell is ranked in the top 10 in the nation in field goal percentage (.464-2nd), rebound margin (+12.0-7th) and assists per game (18.0-4th).
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Camille Marie leads the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game. Rikki Mulloy is right behind her at 13.0 points and Taylor Dicus is at 12.2 points per contest.
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Dicus also leads the team, averaging 8.6 rebounds per game.
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The Rams have a scoring margin of +19.6 this season and held to opponents to a conference-best .329 field goal percentage.
Series History: (CSS is 0-0 vs. Cornell)
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This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
About the Tommies
Record: 22-5, 18-4 MIAC
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St. Thomas is making its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the MIAC Tournament title 58-50 over MIAC regular season champion Concordia College-Moorhead.
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The Tommies and first round opponent Calvin College will meet for the third time in less than a year. St. Thomas defeated Calvin in overtime in the NCAA Quarterfinals last season and then fell to the Knights 78-72 in this year's season opener.
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After losing the season opener to Calvin, the Tommies won 11 straight games and then suffered a three-game losing streak in January. Since then they have won nine straight games.
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The Tommies lost standout center Maggie Weiers in the season-opening loss to Calvin with a season-ending injury.
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Jenna Dockter leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.7 points per game. Taylor Young is averaging 11.0 points and Anna Smith is at 10.1 points per game.
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St. Thomas is sixth in the country, making 45 percent of its field goal attempts.
Series History: (CSS is 1-8 vs. St. Thomas)
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The Tommies have won the last eight meetings.
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The Saints last played the Tommies in 2001.
About the Knights
Record: 23-3, 14-1 MIAA
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Calvin is making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance.
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The Knights are ranked fourth in this week's D3hoops.com poll.
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Calvin was co-regular season champions of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), but fellow to co-champion Hope College (Mich.) in the MIAA Tournament title game.
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The Knights won 21 straight games during the season, but have dropped two of their last three games, both to Hope.
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The Knights are led by four-time MIAA Most Valuable Player Carissa Verkaik. Verkaik became the MIAA's all-time leading scorer this season, finishing with 1,219 points in league games.
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Verkaik is averaging 19.9 points per game this season and is ranked seventh in the nation in field goal percentage (.573) and sixth in blocked shots per game (3.31).
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Calvin leads the nation in field goal percentage as a team (.465) and in assists per game (18.6).
Series History: (CSS is 0-0 vs. Calvin)
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The programs have never met.
