For the third straight year, the Eastern Mennonite basketball women have earned an at-large bid to the NCAA National Tournament. The Royals, 22-4 on the year, will play La Roche College, 22-5, in a pod hosted by Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.<\/p>\n
The Saints, with a record of 27-0 and ranked No. 1 in the national poll, will play USA South champion Greensboro College, 24-4, in the other game.<\/p>\n
The Lady Redhawks of La Roche won the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference title for the fifth straight season to earn their postseason spot. EMU and La Roche, from Pittsburgh, do not have any common opponents this year.<\/p>\n
Game times will be determined later this week, although the women expect to play on Friday. Ticket information will also be released soon.<\/p>\n
The Royals had been the No. 2 team in the South Region in both regional rankings released during the season before losing to eventual ODAC champion Virginia Wesleyan in the semifinals. EMU went 15-1 in ODAC play during the regular season, earning their third consecutive top seed for the conference tourney. That, combined with their strength of schedule, was enough for the selection committee to put them in the postseason.<\/p>\n
This is the fourth trip to the NCAA National Tournament for the Royals, and the third in a row. They also went dancing in 2004.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"