Storm qualify for NCAA Tournament
Directions to the Ratner Center
INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson women's basketball team learned Monday that it earned an at-large bid to play in the 2012 NCAA Division III Championship.
Making its eighth-straight trip to the national tournament, Simpson (21-6) will travel to Chicago, Ill. where it will play 16th-ranked UW-Eau Claire (20-6) in the first round on Friday, March 2 at 5:30 p.m. The host University of Chicago Maroons (25-0) face Monmouth (16-9) in the region's other matchup, beginning at 8 p.m.
Tickets are priced at $7 for adults and $4 for children and will go on sale at the door beginning Friday at 4:30 p.m. Tickets for Saturday's second round contest will be available for purchase immediately after each game Friday night, as well as at the door Saturday beginning at 6 p.m.
Click here for a complete bracket.
Simpson, the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season champions, closed the year winning 9 of its last 10 games, losing to Coe in the IIAC Tournament Championship game on Saturday.
Simpson is 9-11 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 7-9 under 25th-year head coach Brian Niemuth. Niemuth has two Sweet 16 trips under his belt and is coming off a second-round appearance in last year's tournament.
The Storm are led by the inside combination of Kate Nielsen and Stacey Schutjer. A 5-11 junior forward, Nielsen leads the team in scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.8) while 6-2 senior post Schutjer is second in both categories (13.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg).
UW-Eau Claire earned an at-large bid to the tournament and is one of four qualifiers from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Blugolds tied for the regular season WIAC crown but fell to UW-Whitewater in the conference tournament semifinals.
No. 2 Chicago won the University Athletic Association title and is one of four undefeated teams in the field of 64. Monmouth makes its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Midwest Conference Tournament with a 75-67 win over Carroll on Saturday. The Fighting Scots finished second in the MWC regular season standings.
