Willamette women's basketball team earns at-large bid to the NCAA Division III tournament
The season isn't over yet for the Willamette University women's basketball team.
Despite being upset in the semifinals of the conference tournament it hosted, the Bearcats received an at-large bid Monday to the NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament.
"I am so excited for this team," Willamette coach Peg Swadener said in a press release. "We've had such a great season, and I'm so proud that the National Committee recognized us for the success we showed through the entire season."
The Bearcats (17-9) will play Millikin University (22-5) on Friday in the first round of the 64-team tournament at host Wisconsin-Whitewater.
First- and second-round games are played on the campus of a participating institution. Wisconsin-Whitewater (22-4) plays Minnesota-Morris (17-10) in the first round, with the winner facing the Willamette-Millikin winner. Millikin is in Decatur, Illinois.
The Bearcats will be playing in their first NCAA Division III tournament. The program's only other national tournament appearance was in 1995-96 at the NAIA Division II level.
Puget Sound (19-8), which upset Willamette in the semifinals of the Northwest Conference Tournament, will play Carroll of Wisconsin (23-4), which hosts first- and second-round games.
The Loggers received the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament.
Capi Lynn is a senior reporter for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips to her at clynn@statesmanjournal.com, or follow her work on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Willamette gets at-large bid to NCAA Division III women's tournament
