College Women’s Basketball News – Guilford Earns NCAA Tournament Berth

GUILFORD RECEIVES NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYOFF BID
Quakers open play this weekend at Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky.

GUILFORD’S INVITATION: By virtue of its 21-5 overall record and standing in the NCAA Division III South Region Rankings, Guilford College’s women’s basketball team received one of 20 at-large bids to the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Quakers will make their fifth NCAA appearance in school history and first since 2013. The Quakers also played in the NCAA Tournaments in 2001, 2002, 2012 and 2013.

Guilford meets the University of Mount Union (20-7) Friday (3/4) at 5:00 p.m. in one of two first-round games hosted by Thomas More College. The host Saints (27-0) play La Roche College (24-3) in Friday’s second game at 7:00 p.m. The winners of both games meet Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in the second round. Each of the first- and second-games will be played in Thomas More’s Connor Convocation Center.

TICKET INFORMATION: General admission tickets cost $6. Student and senior citizen (ages 65+) tickets are $4 and children under two are free.

Thomas More will have pre-sale of its ticket allotment Wednesday (3/2) from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. and Thursday (3/3) from 3-7 p.m. inside the athletic department office at the Connor Convocation Center. Doors will open on Friday at 4 p.m. and on Saturday at 5 p.m.

SERIES RESULTS: Guilford has never played Mount Union or La Roche in women’s basketball. Thomas More won the lone meeting with Guilford, 88-74, in the opening game of the 2002-03 season. The contest was part of a season-opening tournament hosted by Wilmington (Ohio) College.

GUILFORD VS. 2016 NCAA PLAYOFF FIELD: The Quakers have a 2-2 record against the other teams in this year’s field of 64. Each of the four opponents played in the Guilford College Classic Nov. 21-22 in the Ragan-Brown Field House. Guilford defeated Denison University, 69-61, Nov. 21 and lost to Stevens Institute of Technology the following day, 65-64. Lynchburg College, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament champion, was the fourth team in the tournament. Guilford split two games with the Hornets this year. It won a January 27 home contest, 63-50, and lost in the ODAC Tournament Final February 28, 62-55.

GUILFORD IN NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Quakers are making their fifth NCAA playoff appearance and have a 2-4 record in NCAA games. In 2001, Guilford won its first ODAC crown and made its NCAA tournament debut with an 80-57 home win over Meredith College. The victory sent the Quakers to Abilene, Texas, for a second-round contest against Hardin-Simmons University. Hardin-Simmons advanced to the Sweet 16 round with a 106-77 victory. In 2002, Guilford again won the ODAC title scored a 54-47 home win over Methodist College in a first-round NCAA game. The win earned another trip to Hardin-Simmons, where the Cowgirls prevailed, 72-71.

In 2012, the Quakers won their third ODAC title and the league’s NCAA playoff bid. Guilford dropped a 59-47 opening-round contest at Centre College.

The Quakers earned their fourth NCAA trip with another ODAC title in 2014 and drew Christopher Newport University in a first-round game. The Captains won on their home court in Newport News, Virginia, 66-47.

THE 2016 NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Division III championship provides for a 64-team field. The NCAA granted 44 conference champions automatic qualification for the 2016 championship. The final 20 berths were reserved for Pool C, which includes institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that are not the conference champion, and any Pool B teams. Based on sponsorship numbers for 2015-16, there were no Pool B berths for this year’s championship. Sixteen first and second-round sites will be conducted March 4-5. Second-round winners advance to one of four sectional sites March 11-12. Winners of the four sectional sites will advance to the national semifinals March 19. All games, except the semifinals and final, will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. The semifinals will be conducted at the Capital Center Performance Arena on the campus of Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

The finals will be part of a larger 35th anniversary NCAA women’s basketball championship celebration taking place at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis the first week in April. Championship week will culminate with five championship basketball games and three national titles decided within a 48-hour period at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It will be the first time in the history of NCAA women’s basketball that all three divisional championships will be decided in the same city and venue. The Division I national semifinals will be played Sunday, April 3 at 6 and 8:30 p.m. EST. The Division II and III national championship games will be played Monday, April 4 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively, while the Division I national championship game will be played on Tuesday, April 5 at 8:30 p.m.

GUILFORD LEADERS: Thirteenth-year head coach Stephanie Flamini’s team enters the tournament with a 21-5 overall record, its best ledger since the 2013-14 unit went 21-7. The Quakers played in their seventh ODAC Tournament final last weekend and have won 11 of their last 14 contests.

Anais Weatherly, a 5-11 junior forward, earned First Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) laurels February 24 after her second-team selection in 2015. She is Guilford’s 12th two-time All-ODAC women’s basketball performer. The 25-game starter tops Guilford in most statistical categories, including scoring (15.5 ppg.), rebounding (9.5 rpg.) and assists (2.5 apg.). She ranks sixth among ODAC scoring leaders and is third in rebounding, which makes her one of three students in the top six of both categories.

Weatherly also averages a league-best 3.1 steals per contest, the 36th-highest figure in NCAA Division III. She is second in the league in offensive rebounds (3.0 rpg.) and her 467.0% field-goal percentage stands seventh. The forward ranks among the ODAC’s top 10 in 11 different statistical categories. A two-time ODAC Player of the Week, Weatherly has a team-high 13 double-doubles, including a season-high 24-point, 15-rebound performance against Emory & Henry College February 17. She and teammate Heaven Walters represented Guilford on the All-ODAC Tournament Team.

Sophomore guard Lauren Ramsey was a first-time All-ODAC selection this season. Her 11.0 points per game average stands second on the team. She also contributes 4.0 rebounds and leads Guilford with 2.5 assists per game. Ramsey established herself as a consistent option for the Quakers’ offense with 16 double-digit scoring performances, including a career-high 21 points in a 65-54 victory over Hollins University January 13. She was Guilford’s leading scorer on six occasions and topped the team in assists 11 times. Ramsey won the league’s Player of the Week Award for week four.

KENTUCKY BOUND: Guilford leaves campus for Crestview Hills, Kentucky, by charter bus late Wednesday (3/2) afternoon. Fans are invited to cheer on the team as it leaves Alumni Gym at 5:15.