Two teams will represent the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association in the 2018 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, the national office announced Monday. Hope, the 2018 MIAA Co-Champion and automatic berth recipient by virtue of winning the MIAA tournament, will host 1st/2nd round action and take on Cornell (Iowa) Friday in the first round. Trine, MIAA Co-Champions with Hope, received an at-large berth and will travel to Illinois Wesleyan to face DePauw in the first round.
Hope (26-1) enters the national tournament ranked No. 4 by the WBCA and will host Washington-St. Louis and Wheaton (Ill.) in the other first round game. This year's appearance is the 19th in program history and sixth consecutively. Hope's opponent, Cornell, enters the tournament with a 20-5 record after earning the automatic berth from the Midwest Conference.
Trine (24-3) has just three losses on the season, all to teams ranked in the top four nationally: two against No. 4 Hope, and one against No. 1 Amherst. The 11th ranked team in the country by WBCA, the Thunder make their second-ever NCAA Championship appearance after their debut in 2017. DePauw (25-2) is also an at-large berth after a 21-game winning streak was snapped in the NCAC semifinals; the Tigers are ranked 10th by the WBCA.
The 2018 Division III Women's Basketball Championship will culminate with the final four teams competing at Mayo Clinic Civic Center in Rochester, Minn.
Tournament links
NCAA Division III Women's Basketball page
2018 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball bracket announcement
2018 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball interactive bracket
