The La Roche University women's basketball team will enter the NCAA Division III tournament this week against the Ithaca College Bombers. The Redhawks won the AMCC's automatic bid after a hard-fought 71-70 victory over the Penn State Behrend Lions this past Saturday. The team will travel to Ithaca, NY for their first-round game to take place on Friday. The matchup between the Bombers and the Redhawks will be the first-ever meeting between the schools. La Roche has won 17-straight and enter the NCAA Tournament with a 20-7 overall record.
The Ithaca women's basketball team is making their 18th NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Tournament appearance. The Bombers received hosting rights to the first and second rounds of the tournament. This comes as the team fell just short in a tough fought battle to Skidmore College on Sunday in the Liberty League Championship game by a final score of 54-52.
In the NCAA Tournament, Ithaca will play La Roche in the first round of the tournament and will also welcome Marietta College and Eastern Connecticut State University at Ben Light Gymnasium.
The Redhawks are led by senior guard Danajah Sanders, who was just named the AMCC Player of the Year. Sanders has been the leading force for the Redhawks all season long, as she led La Roche to their fourth consecutive regular season title and third straight AMCC Championship. Her 16.9 points per game in conference play were fourth-best in the league, while she also ranked second in steals (37) and fourth in assists (46). The senior shot 35.6% from three point range and 45.4% from the floor. Senior guard Machia Hairston, an AMCC first team selection, averaged a double-double for the Redhawks, as she led the team and ranked second in the AMCC with 10.4 rebounds per game, while also scoring 15.1 points per game. Her 48.8 field goal percentage was third-best in the leauge and her 88 free throws were second. All-AMCC second team honoree Makayla Abram rounds out the double-digit scorers for La Roche, as she contributed 14.0 points per game, while also adding 6.2 rebounds per game.
The Bombers have made 17 previous NCAA Tournament appearances in program history and have an overall NCAA record of 19-17 (.527 winning percentage). Most recently, the Bombers also hosted first and second round games during the 2021-22 NCAA Championship. They defeated Catholic University in the first round and fell to Springfield College in the second round.
To view the whole bracket click here: WOMEN'S NCAA DIVISION III BRACKET
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In addition to La Roche earning a bid to the NCAA tournament, the Penn State Behrend women's basketball team earned the program's 14th bid to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championships, announced on Monday.
The No. 4 Lions (21-6) will host No. 5 Alvernia in first-round action on Wednesday night. Game time is 7 p.m. The winner advances to the semifinals hosted by Ramapo on Saturday, the No. 1 seed who received a first-round bye.
Behrend is making its third straight appearance in the ECAC Division III Tournament. Last season, the Lions advanced to the championship game against Carnegie Mellon, falling 80-60.
The Lions are coming off an 71-70 loss in the AMCC Championship game to the La Roche Redhawks, while the Golden Wolves fell in their MAC Championship game to Messiah, 60-37.
Behrend won the ECAC Championship in 1991-92 and in 1995-96.