Indianapolis, IN — For the 10th consecutive season, the Messiah women's basketball program will participate in the NCAA National Tournament.
Messiah learned of its fate Monday morning during the tournament's selection show, as the team secured an at-large berth for the fourth time in program history. The Falcons will be making their 11th trip to the Big Dance overall.
Messiah will host First and Second Round competition this weekend, facing off against Eastern Connecticut State University (Willimantic, Conn.) Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Thomas More College (Crestview Hills, Ky.) will play Randolph-Macon College (Ashland, Va.) Friday at 5:30 p.m., comprising the other half of the four-team bracket. The winners of Friday's games will then meet Saturday night at 7 p.m. for the right to advance to the “Sweet 16.”
For the Falcons, this year's berth came with a bit of trepidation, as the team had to anxiously wait to see if it received a bid after falling to Widener University in last Wednesday's MAC Commonwealth Semi-Finals. That defeat snapped a four-year run of conference titles and automatic NCAA Tournament berths, putting head coach Mike Miller and crew on the hot seat.
As the team watched the selection show in an on-campus conference room Monday morning, relief was the word of choice once Messiah's name was called.
“Wednesday night, we didn't think we were in,” Miller said. “We were very, very disappointed with how we played. But, as we started to look at it with more clarity, we realized we had a pretty good shot (of making it). For this group, it feels like a second chance. It's more than just being happy. It's a relief.”
Ranked 18th in the most recent USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll and 15th in the latest D3hoops.com ballot, Messiah (22-4) will host an opening round of NCAA Tournament play for the 10th straight year. While the tournament format has changed several times over the years — a total 63 teams now compete — Messiah's road has always started in Grantham throughout the last decade.
Miller can only hope that this year's bid will end with the same type of success that his 2000-2001 at-large berth did, as that team went on to compete in the national championship contest. The Falcons' other at-large bids came in the 2003-2004 and 1995-1996 seasons, the latter being the program's first-ever trip to the Big Dance.
With last year's team making the program's second trip to the NCAA Division III National Championship game, Miller said he hopes this year's team can use the Widener loss as a positive.
“These girls have earned the right to be in this spot, but at the same time it's a blessing,” he said. “Despite all of our success over the last 10 years, I hope this (at-large berth) allows us to play a bit more free. It's an unexpected blessing. We won't forget that.”
Messiah welcomes a tough contingent of teams to Brubaker Auditorium, as #20/#17 Eastern Connecticut State (25-3) also arrives via an at-large bid, falling in the Little East Conference Championship game. Thomas More College (26-2, ranked #6/#7) and Randolph-Macon College (23-5) each enter the tournament as a result of winning their respective league tournaments. Thomas More defeated Washington & Jefferson College by a 59-49 score to claim the Presidents Athletic Conference Championship, while Randolph-Macon bettered Bridgewater College 69-55 for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference crown.
All games will take place in Brubaker Auditorium. Doors will open to the public at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon. Tickets for all NCAA National Tournament games are $6 for adults, $3 for senior citizens, $3 for children ages five through 12 and $3 for students with ID. Children ages five and under are admitted free. Fans unable to attend the games at Messiah will have the option of listening to all the action on the radio dial (90.7 FM) or on the world wide web, as WVMM, Messiah College Radio, will cover all tournament games with live, play-by-play action. Live Stats will also be available for all three games taking place during the weekend.
