- Mobile Edition - Mobile EditionMatchups and game times are set for the Central Region Tournament of the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship, scheduled to begin Friday at Whalen Gymnasium on the campus of Fort Lewis College in Durango.
The Fort Lewis College women's team, with a 30-3 record, take to the floor at 6 p.m. Friday against eighth-seeded Colorado Mines, who finished the season 20-8.
Both teams received at-large bids and both reside in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Action begins at 1 p.m. Friday, when No. 2 seed Wayne State, from Wayne, Neb., takes on No. 7 seed Colorado State-Pueblo, in a matchup of automatic qualifiers. The Wildcats, 26-6 and ranked No. 22, clinched a berth with a 77-67 win over Minnesota-Duluth in the final of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Basketball Tournament on Sunday.
The ThunderWolves (20-10) punched their ticket with a 61-60 upset of regional host Fort Lewis in the RMAC Shootout final in Pueblo.
Game No. 2 will feature another Northern Sun-RMAC matchup, this time between 24-5 Concordia-St. Paul (ranked 21st nationally) and 19-6 Adams State, seeded third and sixth respectively. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday.
After the game between Fort Lewis and Colorado Mines, the region's No. 4 and 5 seeds (both from the Northern Sun), will hook up in the nightcap. The Augustana Vikings, from Sioux Falls, S.D., take on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at 8 p.m. Augustana brings a record of 23-6 into the contest, and Minnesota-Duluth finished the season 20-10.
The winner of the Wayne State vs. CSU-Pueblo game will meet the winner of the Adams State vs.Concordia-St. Paul contest on Saturday at Whalen Gymnasium.
Likewise, the FLC-Mines winner will play the Augustana vs. Minnesota-Duluth winner Saturday. Game times for the second round had not been released as of Tuesday.
The Central Region title game will be played Monday night at Whalen.
Tickets for the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament are available at the gate, by visiting goskyhawks.com or by telephone at 247-7657.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com