INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Committee announced Sunday the field of 64 teams for the 2013 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship.  The NSIC will send Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota State and Augustana to the NCAA Central Region Tournament in Topeka, Kan.

The tournament will be hosted by top-seeded Washburn University with quarterfinal games on Friday, March 15 in Topkea, Kan. at Lee Arena. Third-seeded Concordia will play sixth-seeded Augustana (23-6) in the quarterfinals, with game time to be announced.  Augustana defeated Concordia 55-43 in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament Semifinals on Friday in Rochester, Minn., but Concordia is 2-1 against the Vikings on the season after sweeping the regular season.

The fourth-seeded Mavericks (25-5) who will be making their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance will do battle with fifth-seeded Arkansas Tech who won the Great American Conference title (GAC) in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Tournament who enters the contest with a 23-6 overall record.

The NCAA Division II Central Region is now comprised of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC).

The regional champions will advance to the quarterfinals March 26, 27 and 29 at Bill Greely Arena in San Antonio, hosted by Texas. St. Mary’s (Texas) and San Antonio Sports.

NCAA Central Region Tournament
Friday, March 15 - Quarterfinal  Round Topeka, Kan.
(3) Concordia-St. Paul vs (6) Augustana - 12 pm
(2) Central Missouri vs (7) Southwestern OK - 2 pm
(1) Washburn vs (8) Emporia State - 6 pm
(4) Minnesota State vs (5) Arkansas Tech - 8 pm

Saturday, March 16 - Semifinals
CU/Augie vs UCM/SO - 5 pm
MSU/AT vs WU/ESU - 7 pm

Monday, March 18 - Championship
Semifinal Winners - 7 pm

NSIC Team Notes
AUGUSTANA COLLEGE -  Augustana avenged four of their losses on the way to their first NSIC Tournament Championship.  The Vikings defense smothered Concordia-St. Paul in the first semifinal and the Vikings took down the only team to beat them by double digits with a 55-43 victory.  In the championship game, the Vikings battled Minnesota State in a back-and-forth affair, eventually winning 81-73.  Emily Schulte’s superb play all tournament long was never more evident than in the final.  Schulte scored 19 points, forced five steals, while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out four assists.  The junior guard was named NSIC Tournament MVP after averaging 18.5 points in four games, nearly double her season average, and racked up 17 rebounds, 14 assists and nine steals.  Also named to the All-NSIC Tournament team, Andrea Whitney and Lydia Nelson both shined brightest on the big stage in Rochester.  Whitney scored 14 points in 20 minutes of playing time in the title game while also tallying a career-high six blocked shots.  Nelson filled a scoring void in the post and averaged 13.5 points in the semifinal and final.  

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL - The 20th-ranked Concordia-St. Paul women’s basketball team (23-6) has earned an at-large berth with the third seed in the 2013 NCAA Central Region Women’s Basketball Tournament. The tournament will be hosted by top-seeded Washburn University with quarterfinal games on Friday, March 15 in Topkea, Kan. at Lee Arena. Concordia will play sixth-seeded Augustana (23-6) in the quarterfinals, with game time to be announced. Augustana defeated Concordia 55-43 in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament Semifinals on Friday in Rochester, Minn., but Concordia is 2-1 against the Vikings on the season after sweeping the regular season. The winner of the quarterfinal game will play the winner of No. 2 seed Central Missouri and No. 7 seed Southwestern Oklahoma on Saturday, March 16 in the semifinals. The championship game will be on Monday, March 18. The Golden Bears picked up NSIC Overall and South Division Regular Season Championships in the 2012-13 campaign, which marked an 11-win turnaround from the 2011-12 conference season. Overall, the turnaround is currently a 12.5 game improvement. Concordia is led by NSIC Coach of the Year, Paul Fessler; and NSIC Player of the Year, Anika Whiting (Ashland, Wis.). The program has captured five NSIC Regular Season Championships under Fessler. The Golden Bears will making their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 of years of NCAA Tournament eligibility - all under Fessler. The Golden Bears have never missed the tournament in consecutive seasons since gaining postseason eligibility. Concordia is 7-8 in the NCAA Tournament, and 5-3 in the regional quarterfinals. This marks the third time Concordia has earned the third seed, with a 2-2 record overall, 1-1 in the quarterfinals. The last time Concordia drew the third seed, it reached the regional final in the 2009-10 season. Concordia’s last NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2010-11 as the fifth seed, a quarterfinal loss to Northern State. The Golden Bears are 2-1 all-time against Northern Sun teams in the NCAA Tournament, and have never played Augustana in the tournament.

MINNESOTA STATE - The Minnesota State University women’s basketball team earned the fourth seed in the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament and will do battle with fifth-seeded Arkansas Tech in the opening round on the campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kan. The Mavericks fell in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament championship round to Augustana 81-73 this past Saturday after defeating Winona State 73-57 in the semifinal round. The Mavericks currently own a 25-5 record on the season, the 25 wins ties the second most wins in a single season in program history.

WINONA STATE - Katie Wolff tied her career high with 27 points but the Winona State women’s basketball team fell to Minnesota State 73-57 Friday in the semifinal of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament in Rochester ending their season.  Wolff also tied her career high with seven made 3-pointers, going 7-of-13 from behind the arc on the day. Her seven 3-pointers give the senior 242 in her WSU career, the second-most in program history.   Winona State ends the season with a 21-11 overall record, the second-most victories in a season for a Warrior squad.