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Former Campbell County Lady Cougar Sarah Cain lays in two in a Nov. win over Columbia International University at Dayton, TN.
SIOUX CITY, IA (WLAF) – The Bryan women’s basketball team is headed back to Sioux City, Iowa for a fourth consecutive year to compete in the 29th annual NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament. The Lions punched their ticket by three-peating as Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) regular-season champions.
14th-ranked and fourth-seeded Bryan will be making their ninth all-time appearance in the NAIA National Tournament when they face fifth-seeded and 18th-ranked Siena Heights University (Mich.) in the opening round on Wednesday, Mar. 11 at 6:15pm EST. Both Bryan and Siena Heights are part of the Liston Bracket, along with first-seeded Marian University (Ind.), second-seeded University of St. Francis (Ill.), third-seeded Morningside College (Iowa), sixth-seeded West Virginia University Institute of Technology (W.Va.), seventh-seeded Southern Oregon University, and eighth-seeded Voorhees College (S.C.). The entire 32-team event will be played inside the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City from Mar. 11-17.
Sarah Cain, a former Lady Cougar standout at Campbell County High School, and her Bryan teammates boarded a charter bus and left out early Sunday morning Sioux City-bound. Bryan made a quick exit from the AAC tournament on Feb. 27 as 8th seeded Milligan upset the Lady Lions, the top seed, and Cain said, “We struggled with the loss, because we kind of weren’t used to it (losing) so it was difficult for a couple of days. We talked about it and came to practice the next week ready to go.” The junior adds, “Last week was probably one of the best weeks of practice to me. It was fun, energetic and productive. I’m excited for what’s next.”
Bryan is 1-8 all-time on the national stage, but this year’s AAC Coach of the Year and the Lions’ Head Coach, Jason Smith, has assembled a team that’s currently 28-2 overall while completing their second straight undefeated conference record of 24-0. The Lions will try to continue their winning ways in the round of 32 in their matchup with the Siena Heights Saints. Siena Heights will be making their fifth overall appearance in the National Tournament with their last time being 2017. The Saints are 2-3 overall during their past trips to Sioux City. Siena Heights’ overall mark of 27-5 was good enough in helping them secure one of just seven available at-large bids. The winner of the Bryan and Siena Heights game will face the winner of the Marian and Voorhees game on Mar. 13 at 11:15am EST.
Joining the seven at-large spots were 25 automatic berths. Automatic qualification is given to conference regular-season champions, regular-season runners-up, tournament champions, or tournament runners-up depending on the league. At-large teams were determined using the final regular-season Coaches’ Top-25 Poll that was released in conjunction with the announcement of the qualifiers. To view the final Top-25 Poll, click here.
The NAIA Network (www.NAIANetwork.com) – the association’s official video streaming home – will broadcast the first 28 games leading up to semifinals and championship game on ESPN3. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users to access video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-tournament package is available at $34.95.
MEET THE TEAMS:
Series History: This is the first-ever meeting between Bryan and Siena Heights.
2020 NAIA Div. II Women’s Basketball Tournament Bracket – (PDF)
Live Video (pay-per-view via NAIANetwork.com)
For all information regarding the NAIA Div. II Women’s Basketball National Championship, click here. (WLAF NEWS PUBLSHED – 03/09/2020-6AM)