ECCC enters as 10th seed
By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
March 11, 2004
DECATUR Brackets were set for the NJCAA Division I Women's National Championship Tournament Wednesday with the Region 23 champion East Central Community College Lady Warriors chosen for the No. 10 seed.
Play gets under way Tuesday at the Bicentennial Center in Salina, Kan.
ECCC, 29-2, will take on seventh-seeded Three Rivers (Mo.) Community College in first-round play Tuesday at 2 p.m.
ECCC's 29 wins are a new school record. The Lady Warriors take a 22-game win streak to Kansas.
Three Rivers comes in with a 26-5 mark. The teams have one common opponent – Northeast Mississippi Community College. Northeast defeated Three Rivers 96-87 in Booneville on Feb. 12, while ECCC steamrolled Northeast 92-67 in the Region 23 semifinals at Clinton last Wednesday.
Ford has already sent Hodge a tape of the Feb. 12 contest with the Lady Raiders.
The ECCC-Three Rivers winner will play the winner of second-seeded Gulf Coast Community College of Panama City, Fla., and 15th-seeded Lake Region State College, N.D. The losers from those two contests will pair off as well.
In other games on Tuesday, top-seeded Trinity Valley Community College, Texas (32-0) plays 16th-seed Gadsden State, Ala. (26-5) at 8:15 p.m., second-seed Gulf Coast (31-1) and 15th-seed Lake Region State (24-8) tangle at 4 p.m., third-seed University of Arkansas-Fort Smith (29-3) clashes with 14th-seed Louisburg College, N.C. (20-3) at 10 a.m. and No. 6 Hiwassee College, Tenn. (28-2) plays No. 11 Weatherford College, Texas (24-9) at noon.
First-round games continue on Wednesday with No. 8 Vincennes University, Ind. (27-4) taking on No. 9 Western Nebraska Community College (28-5) at noon and No. 5 Southeastern Illinois College (28-5) playing No. 12 Central Arizona College (30-2) at 2 p.m.