Game Notes | National Tournament Central | Live Audio | Tournament Bracket | Northwestern Iowa
 
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Coming off a thrilling come-from-behind win against the quadrant's top seed Saturday, the Davenport women's basketball team will be making its second ever appearance in the NAIA Tournament Fab Four against Northwestern (Iowa) Monday at 7 p.m. EDT. Fans can hear the game live on the Davenport Athletics Network (DAN) with Ken Clemens on the call.
 
The three-time defending national champion Red Raiders had to battle with Saint Francis (Ind.) for a majority of the game, but a reversed to a offensive foul, along with a technical called on Cougar bench, changed the tone of the game as three free throws allowed the Raiders to break a 56-56 tie and to run away with an 87-77 victory to advance to their sixth straight semifinal appearance.
 
Davenport and Northwestern (Iowa) have met in the NAIA Division II Tournament before. In fact, it was for the 2011 tourney crown. The Lady Panthers had a 43-40 lead at halftime but it was not enough as the Red Raiders surged to an 88-83 victory. Karli Harris and Leah Sevcik both played on that Panther team as well as now assistant coach Karlee Despres.
 
The 32-team field is comprised of 21 automatic qualifiers from NAIA affiliated conferences and independents, plus 11 at-large selections, which were determined using the final Top 25 poll released on Wednesday.
 
Eight teams are appearing in the National Championship for at least the 10th time in school history, led by the 19 appearances made by College of the Ozarks (Mo.). Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) has the second most with 17 trips. Eight schools have qualified for the National Championship for the first time ever: Mayville State (N.D.), Oklahoma Wesleyan, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Purdue Calumet (Ind.), Reinhardt (Ga.), Roosevelt (Ill.), Saint Xavier (Ill.) and Siena Heights (Mich.). Olivet Nazarene and Saint Xavier are first year Division II members, have made trips to the Division I National championship.
 
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Follow Davenport Women's Basketball on: FACEBOOK | TWITTER