NIACC gets No. 2 seed, plays Wayne County CC in opener

HARRISON, Ark. - The second-ranked NIACC women's basketball team gained the No. 2 seed for the NJCAA Division II national tournament.

The Lady Trojans (27-5) face 15th seed Wayne County CC (Michigan) at 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 19 in their opening round game at the Pioneer Pavillion on the North Arkansas College campus.

NIACC advanced to the national tournament for the ninth time in school history with a 77-70 win over No. 4 Kirkwood Sunday in the NJCAA Region XI title game in the NIACC gym.

Wayne County CC (17-12) stopped Mott CC 66-60 in overtime on Saturday to punch its ticket to the national tournament.

The winner of the NIACC/Wayne County contest plays the winner of seventh seed Cape Fear CC (North Carolina)/10th seed Metropolitan CC (Missouri) at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. The NIACC/Wayne County and Cape Fear/Metropolitan losers meet at 9 a.m. Thursday.

No. 1 Illinois Central (31-1) is the top seed for the 16-team tournament. The Cougars face 16th seed North Platte (Neb.) in their tournament opener at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

NIACC and Illinois Central split a pair of contests this season. The Lady Trojans topped the Cougars 95-89 on Nov. 2 at the Konigsmark Klassic and Illinois Central stopped NIACC 84-77 in the semifinals of the Cougar Holiday Classic on Dec. 29.

Tickets for the national tournament can be purchased at the door. Prices are $10 for adults, $7 for students and $40 week pass will be available.

FIRST-ROUND CONTESTS

Tuesday, March 19

9 a.m. - (3) Kansas City (Kan.) vs. (14) Chesapeake

11 a.m. - (6) Pima vs. (11) Lake Michigan

1 p.m. - (7) Cape Fear CC vs. (10) Metropolitian CC

3 p.m. - (2) NIACC vs. (15) Wayne County CC

6 p.m. - (1) Illinois Central vs. (16) North Platte CC

8 p.m. - (8) South Suburban vs. (9) Union County

Wednesday, March 20

11 a.m. - (4) Moraine Valley vs. (13) Lackawanna

1 p.m. - (5) Niagara County vs. (12) Sinclair