Emporia State is headed back to the NCAA tournament for the 12th time in the last 13 years.
The Lady Hornets received an at-large bid and they are a No. 4 seed in the South Central Regional. They will open on Friday at 6 p.m. against Saint Mary’s, the Heartland conference regular season champion. Ticket information will be released today, but was not available at press time.
Emporia State coach Brandon Schneider said on Sunday that he believed the best two teams in the South Central Regional played in the MIAA championship. Both Schneider and Washburn coach Ron McHenry said they did not want each other in the first round, and they got their wish.
Washburn, a No. 2 seed, would not play Emporia State until the regional championship, where the two teams met last year with Washburn winning to advance to the Elite 8.
“I think you’re always at this time of the year excited about getting to play new competition,” Schneider said. “I don’t think any of us would want to play a team for the fourth time in the first round, and last year when we went we played three MIAA teams, and I just think there’s a little bit of newness to it in your preparation, and I’d prefer to play somebody new.”
Both Emporia State and Saint Mary’s lost in their conference tournament championships. Washburn beat ESU 78-69 on Sunday, and Saint Mary’s lost to Incarnate Word 61-59 on Saturday. Emporia State has never played Saint Mary’s in the NCAA tournament, but the two teams have met during the regular season.
The Lady Hornets are 2-0 against the Rattlers all-time, winning 89-69 in San Antonio during the 2004-05 season and 72-51 during the 2000-01 season in Kingsville, Texas.
The regional will be held at West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas, for the second straight year.
“The biggest advantage is we’re the same seed we were a year ago, so if they kind of follow standard protocol, I’m not so sure we just can’t pull out the same itinerary we used a year ago,” Schneider said. “So it really just saves a lot of time on trip preparation.”
West Texas A&M is the top seed and will play Abilene Christian in the first round. Washburn will open against Incarnate Word in the bottom-half of the bracket. Central Oklahoma, the three seed, will play Southeastern Oklahoma, the six seed.
South Central Regional teams
1. West Texas A&M (25-5)
2. Washburn (26-4)
3. Central Oklahoma (25-5)
4. Emporia State (25-5)
5. St. Mary’s (24-5)
6. Southeastern Okla. St. (21-8)
7. Incarnate Word (21-8)
8. Abilene Christian (18-10)