By TIGER MEDIA NETWORK
A breakdown of each team participating in the 2022 North Central Region Tournament this weekend in Hays.
Fort Hays State
Location: Hays, Kan.
Seed: 1
Record: 28-3
Head coach: Tony Hobson (14th year)
Conference: MIAA
Key players: Katie Wagner, freshman, G, 13.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 steals; Olivia Hollenbeck, freshman, F, 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 1.2 steals, 55% FG shooting; Jaden Hobbs, senior, G, 11.2 points, 2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.3 steals, 43% 3-point FG shooting; Whitney Randall, senior, G/F, 11.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals; Lauren West, sophomore, G, 8.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists.
Team notes: Have won 13 of last 14 games, including nine in a row; beat Missouri Southern 48-42 in title game of MIAA tourney; Tigers are 6-2 against teams in this year’s regional; Hobson is winningest coach in FHSU history; Tigers are making seventh trip to NCAA tourney in last eight years; FHSU has hosted regional twice in the past, each time falling in title game; FHSU was top seed last year but didn’t host due to a predetermined site due to COVID; Hobbs was first-team all-MIAA selection this year, while Wagner was a second-team pick; Hobbs has scored in double figures 14 of last 15 games and is eighth in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage; FHSU is seventh in DII in assists.
Southwestern Oklahoma State
Location: Weatherford, Okla.
Miles from Hays: 265
Seed: 2
Record: 29-4
Head coach: Kelsi Musick (13th season)
Conference: GAC
Key players: Makyra Tramble, sophomore, F, 19.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.8 steals; Lauren Ramey, junior, G, 13.1 points, 5.4 rebounds; Macy Gore, sophomore, G, 10.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists; Karly Gore, sophomore, G, 10 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists; Bethany Franks, senior, F, 9 points, 7.3 rebounds.
Team notes: Seventh NCAA tournament appearance under Musick and fifth straight trip; lost to eventual national champ Lubbock Christian in South Central Regional title game last year; beat FHSU in regional title game in Hays during 2018-19 campaign on way to a national runner-up finish; enter regional on a 14-game win streak; average margin of victory for Bulldogs in three GAC tourney games was 17.7 points; averaging nearly 82 points per game on offense (third best in DII) while shooting 34% from 3-point range; Gore siblings are twins who transferred from DI Oral Roberts; Tramble was player of year in GAC, while Musick was coach of the year; Bulldogs are the top assist team in DII.
Minnesota-Duluth
Location: Duluth, Minn.
Miles from Hays: 853
Seed: 3
Record: 24-4
Head coach: Mandy Pearson (7th season)
Conference: NSIC
Key players: Brooke Olson, senior, F, 18.1 points, 6.4 rebounds; Sarah Grow, senior, F, 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2 blocks; Maesyn Thiesen, senior, G, 8.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.4 steals; Ann Simonet, senior, G, 6.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 steals.
Team notes: Experienced team with six seniors; riding 16-game winning streak entering regional; beat St. Cloud State 62-39 for NSIC tourney title; lost to St. Cloud State twice this year; Bulldogs making fourth straight trip to NCAA regional; average 68 points per game on offense; Olson was NSIC North Division player of the year and shot 51% from the field.
Missouri Southern State
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Miles from Hays: 362
Seed: 4
Record: 24-6
Head coach: Ronnie Ressel (6th season)
Conference: MIAA
Key players: Lacy Stokes, freshman, G, 19.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 34.5 minutes; Amaya Johns, junior, G/F, 10.6 points, 4.7 rebounds; Madi Stokes, sophomore, C, 10.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks; Layne Skiles, junior, G/F, 8.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1 steal.
Team notes: The Lions average 70.1 points per game on offense; MSSU starts each half fast, outscoring opponents by a combined 100 points in the first quarter and 115 points in the third quarter; Lacy Stokes was player of the year in the MIAA, as well as the freshman of the year in the conference; Ressel was unanimous coach of the year in the MIAA; Lacy Stokes and Madi Stokes both made the MIAA all-defensive team; won 17 of last 18 games; lost 48-42 to FHSU in MIAA championship game; beat FHSU 54-41 in Hays earlier this season when Tigers were ranked second in nation; tied with FHSU for regular-season title in MIAA; team went 9-14 overall in 2020-21 season, making this one of the most remarkable turnarounds in DII this season; Lions are making fourth trip to regional tourney and first trip since 1995-96 season.
St. Cloud State
Location: St. Cloud, Minn.
Miles from Hays: 704
Seed: 5
Record: 23-4
Head coach: Lori Fish (14th season)
Conference: NSIC
Key players: Tori Wortz, senior, G, 14.6 points, 4.3 rebounds; Nikki Kilboten, senior, F, 12.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.1 blocks; Brehna Evans, junior, G, 12.7 points, 4 assists, 2.4 steals; Erin Navratil, senior, G, 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds.
Team notes: Huskies are one of the more experienced teams in the tourney with four players either fifth-year seniors or graduate students; Evans was NSIC defensive player of the year for second year in a row; Fish was coach of the year in the conference; Wortz was a first-team all-NSIC pick, along with Kilboten; averages 65 points per game offensively and 55 on the defensive end (10th in DII); won 12 of last 13 games; lost 62-39 to Minnesota-Duluth in NSIC championship game; opened the season with a 58-51 loss at Fort Hays; third-consecutive regional appearance; won first NSIC regular-season title since 1983-84 season.
Nebraska-Kearney
Location: Kearney, Neb.
Miles from Hays: 144
Seed: 6
Record: 23-7
Head coach: Carrie Eighmey (7th year)
Conference: MIAA
Key players: Elisa Backes, junior, F, 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.9 blocks; Trinity Law, sophomore, G, 8.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.7 steals; Shiloh McCool, sophomore, F, 8.4 points, 6.1 rebounds; Klaire Kirsch, junior, G/F, 8.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1 steal; Brooke Carlson, junior, C, 8.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.5 blocks.
Team notes: Eighmey guided team to NCAA Sweet 16 last season; she was a former assistant coach at FHSU under Tony Hobson; won seven of last nine games; lost 56-46 to Fort Hays in MIAA semifinals; Lopers are 3-3 this year against MIAA teams in the regional; averaging 64.8 points per game; UNK played Minnesota-Duluth in last year’s NCAA tourney, winning 65-57; this year’s team is very balanced, with six players averaging more than seven points per game; Backes was a second-team all-MIAA pick; Lopers are 7-14 in NCAA tourney games; UNK is ninth in DII in fewest turnovers as a team and is in the top 15 for scoring defense, along with St. Cloud State and Minnesota-Duluth.
Missouri Western State
Location: St. Joseph, Mo.
Miles from Hays: 300
Seed: 7
Record: 21-9
Head coach: Candi Whitaker (3rd season)
Conference: MIAA
Key players: Connie Clarke, sophomore, G, 12.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1.7 assists, 0.8 blocks; Brionna Budgetts, sophomore, G, 12.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals; Corbyn Cunningham, senior, F, 12.1 points, 7 rebounds; Jordan Cunningham, freshman, G/F, 7.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists.
Team notes: Griffons making first NCAA appearance since 2016; have won only three of last nine games entering regional, including one of last five games; lost 65-58 to Missouri Southern in MIAA semifinals; averaging 73.8 points per game; Clarke was second-team all-MIAA selection; Griffons went 6-16 overall last season, marking another impressive turnaround for this year; Whitaker was former head coach at Texas Tech from 2013-18; one of four MIAA teams to make the regional; Griffons are 1-6 against the three other MIAA teams to make regional this year.
Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks
Location: Mankato, Minn.
Miles from Hays: 616
Seed: 8
Record: 21-6
Head coach: Emilee Thiesse (10th season)
Conference: NSIC
Key players: Joey Batt, sophomore, G, 15.3 points, 3.3 rebounds., 3.9 assists, 2.6 steals; Destinee Bursch, freshman, G, 11.6 points, 3.4 rebounds; Maddy Olson, senior, G, 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.3 steals; Taylor Theusch, sophomore, G, 8.5 pts., 1.4 reb.
Team notes: The Mavericks are one of the top scoring teams in the country with their fast-paced attack, averaging 79 points per game (top 15 in the nation); Bursch was freshman of the year in the NSIC; Batt was a first-team pick in the conference; have won six of last seven games; lost 69-66 to Minnesota-Duluth in NSIC semifinals; third regional tourney under Thiesse; qualified in 2013 and 2015; Thiesse’s sister (Amy Williams) is head coach of the women’s basketball team at Division I University of Nebraska; Thiesse played collegiately at UNK from 2000-03; the Mavericks force nearly 24 turnovers per game, one of the top marks in DII.
Tournament bracket
Friday, March 11
Noon – No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney vs. No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth
2:30 p.m. – No. 7 Missouri Western State vs. No. 2 Southwestern Oklahoma State
5 p.m. –No. 8 Minnesota State-Mankato vs. No. 1 Fort Hays State
7:30 p.m. – No. 5 St. Cloud State vs. No. 4 Missouri Southern State
Saturday, March 12
5 p.m. – UNK/UMD winner vs. SWOSU/NWSU winner
7:30 p.m. – FHSU/MSU winner vs. MSSU/SCSU winner
Monday, March 14
7 p.m. – Championship game
Winner advances to Elite 8 in Birmingham, Ala., on March 21-25