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#20 Women's Hoops Set For NAIA First-Round Matchup Against #13 C of O

#20 Women's Hoops Set For NAIA First-Round Matchup Against #13 C of O
Posted: Mar 04, 2015

The 20th-ranked Siena Heights women's basketball team will meet 13th-ranked College of the Ozarks (Mo.) in the opening round of the 32-team NAIA Division II Tournament, which will take place at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. The Saints' matchup with the Bobcats will take place on Thursday at 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST).

SHU (26-7) qualified for its third straight national tournament -- and third invitation in program history -- with one of two automatic bids awarded to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. One of its conference-mates -- second-ranked Davenport (31-0) -- will also represent the WHAC in Iowa.

Siena Heights finished second in the WHAC regular-season standings and then reached its second straight WHAC Tournament final with a 66-50 win over seven-seed Aquinas and a 95-87 victory against three-seed Madonna. SHU fell to Davenport in the championship game, 62-37.

The Saints boast an All-WHAC First Team performer in senior guard Sierra Calhoun. Calhoun was also named to the All-WHAC Defensive Team while senior forward Mackenzie Tomasik was selected as an All-WHAC Honorable Mention.

College of the Ozarks (23-8), an at-large selection to the NAIA pool, advanced to the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament finals before falling to College of Saint Mary (Neb.), 81-76.

Siena Heights is 1-2 all-time in the NAIA Tournament. The Saints reached their first tournament in 2012-13, falling to Briar Cliff (Iowa) in the opening round, 94-77. Last year, SHU snagged its first tournament victory -- a 77-59 triumph against Tennessee Wesleyan -- but then lost to eventual national champ Saint Francis (Ind.), 83-59.

Ozarks will make its record 21st appearance in the tournament -- and 14th consecutive trip. The Bobcats lost in last year's championship game to Saint Francis, 75-68.

The NAIA Network (www.NAIANetwork.com), powered by Stretch Internet -- the NAIA's official video-streaming platform -- will be home to all of the national championship action. Live HD-quality video will stream the first 28 games running from Mar. 11-17. For more information, click here.

For more information on the 2015 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship, presented by State Farm, click here.